Untouchable?
by green sandels88
Summary: RogueRemy, first try at a fan fic, so go easy on the reviews. Rogue can't be touched, but Remy loves a challenge. UPDATE: Oh yea, its about damn time right? haha CHAPTER 15 NOW UP: Kurt follows Gambit and comedy ensues
1. Just a Notch on the Bedpost

A/N: First of this is my first try at a fan fic, so go easy on the reviews. I just want to say upfront, that I didn't really write in any of the accents for Remy, Rouge, or Kurt, so just voice them in as you read it. I didn't want to completely mess up and annoy/offend someone out there who has the skills to do what I can't. Any way, I think my story is pretty funny, considering how persistent Gambit is, so enjoy. ^_^  
  
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Disclaimer: as much as I would love to be getting rich off owning the x-men, sadly I do not own any of them, I know you must be shocked by this, but please, try to handle your surprise responsibly, and don't try to drink and drive your troubles away…  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
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Remy lay in bed, starring up at the ceiling. His face stripped of emotion, as if deep in thought. 'Remy a god with the fillies' he reminded himself, 'none of the girls can resist Remy's charm.' He idly ran his fingers through his hair, as if illustrating the point. He smiled a little, at his own antics, and then rolled onto his side. He rested his head on his arm and stared out the window.  
  
Now Remy held all ladies with the up most respect, but all in all, all girls were the same to him, just something to help pass his time, another notch on his bedpost (which already had quite a few marks carved into it). Remy had never been denied a girl, and the few times someone told him he wasn't allowed a fille, he was quick to flirt with her and win her over. Being told no only fuelled Remy's determination. But now he was being denied a fille, not by some man, but by god himself. God had finally given Remy a challenge, a challenge he had to accept. "Untouchable" he said to himself in disbelief as he rolled back onto his back.  
  
'How can any fille be untouchable?' he thought to himself, as he placed his hands behind his head. Remy loved the chase, more than he loved the rewards it brought him. When a girl played hard to get, it only intrigued him more. 'If this, Rogue, is as untouchable as Magneto says,' Remy thought to himself, 'Remy thinks he is going to enjoy his stay at Bayville.' A smirk found its way to Remy's face, and the red of his eyes burned a little brighter in the dark of his room.  
  
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BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ  
  
The loud alarm suddenly woke Rogue up. Kitty quickly phased her hand through the noisy alarm clock, and sat up in her bed.  
  
"Oh My God! I must have set the alarm wrong, its like already 7:30" Kitty ran to the closet in a hurry, she just phased through Rouge and her bed altogether. "Hurry up Rogue we only have half an hour to get dressed, eat breakfast, bum a ride…" Kitty continued rattling off things, but rogue was to busy rushing to get herself ready to listen to Kitty complain.  
  
Rogue ran a hand through her hair, and thanked her lucky stars that she had decided to take her shower last night when the line was short, instead of in the morning. She quickly got dressed, pulling on her favorite skirt, tank top, and green mesh shirt. She hopped a little when putting on her boots; trying to avoid being hit by the onslaught of clothes kitty was throwing from her side of the closet.  
  
"Where is it, where is it…" Kitty trailed off as she searched through a few more hangers. "I can't find my capri pants anyw- Oh Wait Here They Are!"   
  
Rogue was focusing on her make up now in front of the vanity mirror in their room. She really didn't have time to go all out, so she just put a little dark color on her eyes, and lips. She started to put a little powder on, but after glancing at the clock, decided it was good enough. She quickly flung her backpack over her shoulder, and picked up her gloves. She glanced over at Kitty to see if she was ready to go. "Hurry up will ya'?"  
  
"Ok, ok, just one more second." Kitty was focusing on herself in the mirror now, pulling her hair up into its classic ponytail. She tilted her head to each side quickly, testing to see how her hair moved. She smiled, obviously approving of her bounciness.   
  
"Ready?" Rogue had her arms crossed.  
  
"Ready!" Kitty bounded out the door, with her roommate right behind her. "Hurry up," She yelled behind her towards Rogue, "your going to make me late."  
  
"I'm going to make you late?! You got to be kidding me?"  
  
Kitty giggled as she ran down the stairs and waved an arm towards a slightly annoyed looking Scott. After seeing them, Scott's face looked a little less agitated, as he hopped into the driver's seat. "I almost left with out you guys," Scott started, "what took you so long?"  
  
"Well Rogue was taking to long getting dressed, I mean I was waiting and waiting and waiting…." Kitty smiled a little, trying to show Rogue she was just joking.  
  
Rogue just shook her head, half of her wanted to smack Kitty up side the head, and the other half was laughing. "What ever Kitty, Hey where's Kurt?"  
  
"I don't know but I'm going to call shot gun before he gets down here." Kitty started to run for the passenger seat, when Kurt Bamfed his way into the front seat.  
  
"Shot Gun!" Kurt shouted with his arms in the air.  
  
"Kurt what are you doing, I was totally here first, I called shot gun first and everything."  
  
"Kitty you can't just call it first, you have to get there first to." Kurt explained as he stuck his tongue out at Kitty, she crossed her arms and got in the back seat with Rogue.  
  
"Well I definitely call shot gun next time, like your all my witness."  
  
"Just hurry up and get your seat belts on, you guys are going to make ME late" Scott started the car and they drove off towards the school.  
  
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Rogue's morning classes went by really quickly, and for the most part were fairly uneventful, until she got to fourth period French class. She sat down in her usual seat. She sat almost all the way in the back right corner; only two seats were left empty behind her. If Rogue had her way, she would be sitting two seats behind her, in the far back seat, but thanks to assigned-seating that wasn't an option.  
  
The teacher passed out a worksheet, and everyone began to work on it by them selves. The room was relatively silent, aside from a few coughs, the sound of rustling papers, and just a little whispering coming from the other side of the room. 'Why did I take French in the first place?' she asked herself, 'I mean, I should have just taken German with Kurt, he would have at least been able to help me with it.' Rogue quickly lost interest in the worksheet in front of her, and began to stare carelessly out the window to her left. Rogue was almost deep in thought when she suddenly felt something hit the back of her head. She didn't turn around, knowing that it was probably just the preppy cheerleader girls throwing wadded up pieces of paper at her. She didn't want to turn around and make eye contact with them; it might make them feel like it was actually bothering her. Rogue did not want them to think they had won anything. She shook her head slightly, hoping that if anything had got stuck in her hair, it had fallen out. A few moments later another piece of paper hit her in the back of her head, and then another. It went on for a few minutes. But Rogue just sighed a little and ran her fingers thought the back of her hair. 'I don't hear any giggling' she thought, 'If the cheerleaders were throwing paper at me, I think they would be giggling by now… o well, it doesn't matter who it is, this has to stop.' She thought for a moment, 'Ok, ok, if it happens again, I'll turn around and give those girls, or whoever it is for that matter, one of my death glares, maybe that will stop them.' Rogue braced herself for another projectile, but there was nothing. She waited, but still nothing happened. 'What ever, as long as it stopped' Rogue returned to gazing out the window, in an effort to avoid her worksheet. Suddenly a note landed on her desk. She quickly pulled it underneath the desk to her lap, so no one could see.  
  
"Pourquoi vous ne tournerez pas et me regarderez, chere?" it took Rogue a moment to translate the message, luckily she had her French notes right on her desk, and was able to decipher "Why won't you turn and look at me, dear?" Rogue slowly turned to look over her shoulder, not wanting to look suspicious to the teacher who was grading papers at her desk. When rogue turned all the way around, she saw some kid she didn't recognize right away. He had brownish hair, with a little red in it. His eyes were brown, but there was something a little odd about them, that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He looked tall and lanky, yet muscular. He smiled at her, and raised his right hand up to his head and gave a little mock solute with a flip of his wrist. Rogue recognized that solute, but from where? Then her jaw dropped, she remembered that kid. He was one of Magneto's goons, the one that gave her the exploding card. She snapped back facing forward in her seat, her mouth still open in surprise. 'What was he doing here? Why was he bothering her? What could he want?'  
  
Rogue was searching her mind for some sort of answer to any of these questions, when another note landed on her desk. She pulled it under her desk and opened up the note and read it to herself.  
  
"You remember moi now, no? Remy remember you chere. But Remy never forgets a beautiful fillie." Rogue felt her heart beat faster. She was a little scared by the fact that the enemy was in her class, sitting just a few seats behind her. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down, 'He wouldn't try anything, not here at least,' she reassured herself, 'not in the middle of school, not with so many witnesses.'  
  
Rogue gathered herself together, and turned around again, to give him a suspicious look. She glared at him, as if to say 'Don't even think about trying anything'. But he just stared back at her, with a smug, ignorant smirk on his face. She was taken back a bit by his expression. Then he winked at her, and she could have sworn there was an actual sparkle to his eye. She turned back around, this time with a smile on her face. She stayed like that, in a bit of a daze until everyone around her started moving. She snapped out of it, loosing her smile, and looked around to notice the bell must have rung. Rogue gathered her books and walked out the door and to her locker. It was time for lunch, and Rogue had a lot to tell Kitty. 


	2. Roguey!

Chapter 2  
  
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"Who was in your French class?!?!" kitty almost spit out her milk as she stared at Rogue in disbelief.  
  
"One of Magneto's lackeys," Rogue lowered her hand as if to show kitty to keep her voice down, "I forget what the Professor had called him, but in his notes he called himself 'Remy'."   
  
"Called himself Remy? What like in the third person?"  
  
"Yea, isn't that weird?"  
  
"I don't know, I think it could sound pretty cool, I mean, as long as you don't over do it too much. I think I might take it up… err… I mean Kitty might just take it up. Oh My God! That sounds so cool!!"  
  
"You sound down right stupid."  
  
"Kitty knows you're just jealous of how totally awesome Kitty sounds."  
  
"What ever… I just hope you don't go talking like that in public, that's just asking for a kick me sign on your ass." Both girls laughed at the idea or Kitty with a 'Kick me' sign on her backside.   
  
Kitty was the first to talk after they stopped laughing, "Like what are you going to do about him?"   
  
"I don't know, I mean, its not like he can do anything to me in the middle of class. I doubt he would start a fight with me or anything like that." Rogue sighed a little as she thought, "You know I don't think it's going to be to big of a deal… I mean I'm going to tell the Professor and everything, but I don't think anyone should be to worried about this."  
  
"I see what you mean…" kitty trailed off. The two girls were quiet for a wile as they continued to eat their lunches. "Ha…" Kitty gave a soft chuckle.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Its nothing, I was just thinking, it's kind of funny, him being in your French class and all. He is like Cajun or something right? So he should be like fluent in French."  
  
"So? What are you getting at?"  
  
"Well that would be like us going to France, and taking English as a second language. You know?"  
  
Rogue laughed a little, "Yeah, I guess that is a little funny." The warning bell then rang, signaling that lunch was almost over. "Oh shit, I got to run to my locker, you mind throwing my stuff out for me? I really got to run."  
  
"Yea, sure, no problem."  
  
"Thanks Kitty!" Rogue shouted as she ran out of the Cafeteria and over to the hallway where her locker was. Rogue opened her locker, got all her books, and just barely made it on time to her next class.  
  
Remy watched her from a distance, making sure to remember which locker was hers. He enjoyed the convenience of her locker being just across the hall from his. He smiled, "Je trouverai une façon." [I will find a way] He glanced down to his schedule, and walked into what he decided would be his next class.  
  
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After school ended, Rogue made her way over to Scott's car with Kitty by her side. The two got there just to see Scott with Jean in the front seat. Kurt was already occupying one of the back seats. "Oh shit, looks like Jean just bumped one of out of a seat" Rogue stated, yet didn't seem to surprised by who was in the passenger seat.  
  
"Hey Jean!" Kitty shouted as she waved and walked towards the car, "What are you doing in Scott's car, doesn't Duncan drive you to and from school?"  
  
Jean shuddered, "Don't even say that name right now."  
  
"Jean and Duncan had a fight today." Kurt stated bluntly  
  
"Well it looks like one of us is walking," Rogue said, looking from the car to Kitty, "You can take the ride, I don't mind walking."  
  
"What are you talking about, I'll just sit in the middle. There are three seats in the back."  
  
"Yea, but it ends up being way to smooshed back there with the three of us."  
  
"Ok, then I'll just sit in the middle and phase through you a little bit, so it would feel like I'm not even there." Kitty smiled at her resourceful idea.  
  
"NO! You don't realize how weird it feels to have some girl sitting half way through you." Rogue shudders at the idea, "I'll definitely pass, don't worry about me, its not that far of a walk anyway."  
  
"Ok, what ever you say, I'll like see you back at the Mansion."  
  
"Bye"  
  
"Bye"  
  
With that Kitty got in the back of Scott's car, and Rogue watched them drive away. She started walking off in the same direction. It shouldn't take her more than half an hour to walk home, and the exercise could only do her good.   
  
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Rogue had been walking for about five minutes. The crowd of kids that were walking out of the school had dwindled down, and she couldn't see anyone else on the sidewalk. Rogue idly pulled at the right index finger of her glove. She looked down at her hands and sighed. It was a painful sigh. Everyone told her that her powers were a gift, but she certainly didn't see them that way. To her they were a curse. And because of that curse, she forced herself to stay away from people. Not only because she didn't want to touch them, and hurt them, but because she didn't want to be reminded of the fact she couldn't touch them. She sighed again. She heard footsteps behind her, but didn't think much of them. She was to busy with her own thoughts. But before she could get back to thinking those thoughts, she felt an arm go around her shoulder.  
  
"Why you walking all alone chere?" though Rouge had never actually heard this voice before, she knew exactly who it was. She quickly shook his arm off of her and turned to face him.  
  
She picked her hand up to point at him, "How dare you-" she started, in a very harsh tone, but as soon as she made eye contact with Remy, her arm dropped, and so did her jaw.  
  
Remy continued to gaze down into her eyes, a familiar smirk came to his face when he saw her mouth open, and her arm slump to her side. "Its not nice to stare" he said quietly just above a whisper.  
  
"Your eyes…" was all Rogue could make come out of her mouth. She was almost hypnotized by his strange eyes. Where the eyes should be white, his were pure black, and the irises were a fiery red. After a moment she was able to say something else, "but they were brown…"  
  
He laughed a little to him self, "If your friend has a watch that can change his whole body of blue fur to look like normal skin, what makes you think Remy can't have one that changes something as simple as his eyes?" he laughed again, "Chere you disappoint me."  
  
Rogue shook her head and backed a way a little. "What do you want?!" She demanded as soon as she remembered who she was talking with.  
  
"Remy just asking for your company." He gave her a smirk.  
  
"Well you can't have it!" she quickly turned and started walking home again. She heard his footsteps behind her, and soon his gloved hand came to her wrist. "Let go of me." She snarled as she stopped walking and shook her hand out of his grasp.  
  
"Chere why are you so angry with Remy? You got something against moi?" She spun around to look at him in the face. Her face seemed to only grown angrier and more confused by the moment.  
  
"You can't be serious?" Rogue shook her head in disbelief, but when his face of innocence didn't change she continued. "Of course I have something against you! You're the enemy!"  
  
"So?" He cocked his head to the side, as if suggesting he wasn't following her line of thought.  
  
"You're the enemy, I'm the good guy. We Don't Get Along!"  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"I don't know," she paused, "It's a rule!"  
  
Remy padded a few of the pockets in his trench coat, and then sighed as his shoulders dropped a little. "So sorry chere, Remy never got any rule book, you'll have to fill him in a little." Her mouth opened a bit and her eyes squinted, as if she was trying to say something but just couldn't find any words harsh enough. "Besides, rules were made to be broken." He said bluntly as his innocent face was replaced with a sly smirk and a wink.   
  
Rogue decided actions said what her words couldn't, and took a swing at his jaw. Remy caught it with his hand, and kissed her glove, as if that was why she brought it to his face in the first place. Though Rogue was taken back, she quickly recovered and took another swing with her other hand. She made contact with his jaw, but he moved with the punch, and didn't really get injured.  
  
Gambit rubbed the right side of his jaw and looked at her a little shocked. "What was that for, Gambit was being a Gentleman."  
  
"Gambit? What happened to Remy?"  
  
Gambit's hand left his face. His eyes narrowed a little as he explained, "Remy goes to school, and Gambit fights the X-men. You raise your hand to Remy, you end up fighting Gambit."  
  
"That's so lame." Rogue turned to continue walking. Her pace quickened when she heard his footsteps behind her. His sped up too. She went faster, he went faster. She was about to go even faster, when she decided it was getting old. Rogue turned around to face her pursuer. "Would you please just leave me…" she stopped when she saw no one was behind her. "…alone." It ended as almost a question. She gave a quick survey of the sidewalk behind her, and across the street. 'About time.' She thought as she turned around and ran right into his chest.  
  
Remy was leaning on his right arm, which was propped up on the wall of the building to their one side. "You don't really want Remy to leave you alone chere."  
  
"How did you…" Rogue started, and then quickly shook her head; she didn't really want to know. Asking would only have him talk to her some more. "Never mind."  
  
"Remy is very sneaky and agile chere." He gave her a wink, "and also very flexible." He smiled watching her face get red. Though it was mostly her getting angry with his suggestive antics, he could tell she was also blushing a little, and that was enough of a reward for today.  
  
"Just get out of my face Cajun!" Rogue pushed by him and continued down the sidewalk with her hands clenched in fists. But they loosened when she didn't hear his footsteps behind her. She felt a little disappointed, but why? 'Don't think about that slime ball Rogue, just get home before he comes back after you.' She walked with her head a little higher.  
  
Remy knew when and how to let a fille simmer. He knew she had a long walk to the mansion now, and with him fresh in her mind, she was sure to think of him. But just to seal the deal, "I'll see you tomorrow in class Roguey!" He shouted to her while he waved his arm in the air. She turned to him and opened her mouth to say something to him, but instead she just clenched her fists and yelled under her breath. She turned around with her hands on the side of her head as if she now had a horrible headache. Remy laughed to himself, with that last stunt, she would easily be thinking about him till tonight. "Roguey." He said to himself as he shook his head a little. He laughed and walked back the way he came.  
  
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Rogue lay in bed, starring up at the ceiling. Her face covered with anger while she was deep in thought. 'Who the hell does he think he is!' she thought, 'Why is he bothering me of all people?' She continued to run the days events through her mind. First French class, with the pieces of paper he hit her with, then the notes. 'He had called me beautiful.' She idly ran her fingers through her hair. She smiled a little and then rolled onto her side. She rested her head on her arm and stared out the window.  
  
Now Rogue never really wanted to get close to anybody after her powers appeared, because all in all, everyone meant the same thing to her, just something to remind her of her curse, another reason to hate herself (and Rogue didn't exactly have the highest self respect in the world to begin with) Rogue had never gotten close to anyone, especially a boy, and the one time she did, he ended up in a coma for three weeks, and she can still feel him inside her head. Being close to anyone only reminded herself of her powers. But now someone was trying to get close to her, and not one of her friends, but the enemy himself. The enemy was passing her notes, and walking with her after class. "Gambit" she said to herself in disbelief as she rolled back onto her back.  
  
'How can I trust the enemy?' she thought to herself, as she placed her hands behind her head. Her smile faded as she realized how annoyed he had made her. When he said one of his snappy come backs, it only annoyed her more. 'If This, Gambit, is as cocky as he seems,' Rogue thought to herself, ' I think I'm going to hate my French class even more now.' A frown found its way to Rogue's face, and she shut her eyes and tried to sleep.  
  
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(A/N: ok, does anyone see a similarity between those last three paragraphs, and the first three paragraphs of the story? Quickly, go back and read them again. I'm so proud of myself ^_^ that's easily my favorite part of this fic so far, well I don't know… the way I image Gambit waving with a goofy smile on his face after calling her "Roguey" was pretty funny to. I don't know how well of a job I did expressing how funny he looked, but I hope you get the point.) 


	3. Leggo My Eggo

Chapter 3  
  
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Rogue looked out in front or her, to see nothing. Everything was dark, and everything was calm. She took a deep breath. Enjoying her solitude. She looked down at her hands, to see her gloves were missing. But for some reason, she didn't panic. Rogue lifted her head to see a tall figure, at the end of what seemed to be a long hallway. She squinted her eyes to see a sudden glint of red. "Scott?" she called out to him. There was no answer. She began to walk towards him. "Scott where are we?" no answer. She walked a little faster. And then stopped dead in her tracks when the streak of red across the figures face, turned into two separate points. Two red eyes staring back at her. She froze.  
  
The figure started walking towards her. Rogue took a step back, even though she could see he was what seemed a football field away. She blinked. He seemed closer. "no." she whispered, as if only to herself. She turned to run down the other end of what was now a dark tunnel, but saw a pair of red eyes staring back at her from that end. The eyes seemed like little flames. Burning brightly in the dark tunnel. "No!" she shouted this time, and began to run back the other direction.  
  
She looked over her shoulder. The eyes were still there. Still watching. They only burned brighter. She turned back around only to see a wall right in front of her. She stopped short of running into the brick wall; now noticing she was in an alleyway. Her eyes followed the wall up, what seemed like ten stories until she saw the sky. The bright sun burned her eyes, and she covered her face with her arms. Suddenly she felt off balance. It felt like someone had their hands on her shoulders, and were shaking her, shaking her back to life.  
  
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Rogue suddenly jerked awake. Sitting upright in her bed, her hands went to her face. Still out of breath, she wiped the cold sweat from her face and neck. 'A dream?' she thought. 'But what was it about?' the sudden jump to reality had defensively allowed her to have amnesia. She couldn't remember anything about the dream she just had. Rogue sat in a daze for a few moments, until regaining her composure.  
  
Rogue took a deep breath and turned to look at the clock on Kitty's bedside table. "7:19? Come on Kitty, you should really learn to set that clock right." Rogue looked at the motionless blob of covers in the bed next to hers; fully knowing she didn't actually hear what she had said.  
  
The alarm would go off at 7:30, like usual. Then Rogue would hear Kitty complain about only having half an hour to get ready. Rogue shook her head. 'I should probably wake her up now,' she thought, 'I mean, eleven more minutes is eleven more minutes.' Rogue then remembered yesterday morning, when Kitty had told Scott that SHE was taking to long to get ready, and a cruel smile crossed her lips. 'But then again, I think Kitty would rather sleep in then have to get up on time, I mean, eleven minutes IS eleven minutes.'  
  
Rogue crept out of her bed and got dressed as quietly as she could. She looked up at the clock after doing her makeup to notice it was now 7:23. Rogue smiled as she grabbed her gloves and backpack, and opened the door slowly. Of course, it squeaked. Rogue clenched her teeth as she looked over to see Kitty still sound asleep. Rogue made her way out the door, and down the hall to the kitchen.  
  
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This time, being on time, Rogue was able to enjoy some breakfast. She popped her Eggo Waffles into the toaster. Soon after they popped up. She made her way over to them.  
  
BAMF  
  
Before she could get them out of the toaster, a familiar flash of light, and smoke appeared in between her and her breakfast.  
  
"Oh man, thanks Rogue, I love waffles!" Kurt snatched up the waffles as she made a lunge for them.  
  
BAMF  
  
Kurt was now across the room, sitting at the table.  
  
"Give me back my Waffles!" Rogue made another mad dash towards Kurt.  
  
BAMF   
  
Kurt now hung upside down from the ceiling on the other side of the room near the doorway. "Oh come on, you know what you have to say."  
  
"I'm not saying it, now give them back!"  
  
"You have to say it, or else I'm going to eat them."  
  
"No!" she charged at Kurt and her waffles again. "I won't say that stupid line!"  
  
BAMF  
  
"Well if your not going to say it, then I guess I'll have to eat these." Kurt brought a waffle to his mouth slowly.  
  
"No!" Rogue put her arms out in front of her.   
  
"Then you'll say it?"  
  
"No I won't…" Kurt continued to bring the waffles closer and closer to his mouth. "Fine! I'll say the stupid line." Kurt looked at her with a smile as he awaited the television slogan. "Lego my Eggo." She said in a slight whisper.  
  
"What was that? I couldn't hear what you said?"  
  
Rogue was about to say it again, when suddenly they both heard a scream from the dorm wing. Kurt looked in the direction of the cry, "What was that?"  
  
Rogue took this opportunity to snatch one of her waffles from him. "Its just Kitty, she must have slept in late again."  
  
"Hey wait give that back!" but it was to late; Rogue was already starting to eat the waffle she had apprehended from Kurt. "Fine what ever, I still got this one!" he waved the waffle at her, and began to eat his. They both started laughing.   
  
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Kurt and Rogue waited in Scott's car, as Scott himself tapped his foot impatiently. What is taking her so long…" Scott trailed off, talking mostly to himself. "Why am I even waiting for her, why do I have to be personal chauffeur for you guys?"  
  
"Because you have a car, Scott" Kurt said bluntly as he watched the stairs for Kitty.  
  
Scott sighed, and leaned against the hood of the car. He mumbled something to himself.  
  
Kitty came flying down the stairs, and phased through the front door. "Shot gun!" she shouted as she jumped into the front seat.   
  
Kurt crossed his arms and looked out his side of the car. He would have been the one in that seat, but Rogue had talked him into letting Kitty have it. Oh well, he would definitely beat her next time. He smiled.  
  
"Its about time Kitty, Lets go." Scott got into the car, and started it up.  
  
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Kitty walked Rogue to her locker before first period began. "You should have totally woken me up Rogue. I can't believe you let me sleep in late again."  
  
"Well it's not my fault you don't know how to set that clock of yours."  
  
"I can set it, it just… it just doesn't remember what time I set it to."  
  
"Please Kitty, that was pathetic, your saying the programmable clock didn't remember what time you set it to?"  
  
Kitty paused, searching her mind for a better excuse. "Well yeah… I mean, I KNOW I set it right."  
  
"Maybe you should hit the off button, instead of phasing through it all the time. Maybe that messes it up with the programming or something."  
  
"Yeah!… that's what I just said…"  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes as she got to her locker. She put in the combination. "Oh right, I must have missed the part where you said that…" she trailed off after she opened her locker. Inside was a playing card. She quickly shut her locker in shock, and Kitty looked at her questionably.  
  
"You ok?"  
  
"Uh… yeah… I'm fine… I just thought of something."  
  
"what?"  
  
"The a… the bells about to ring, you should probably get to your locker." Rogue didn't really know why she was panicking over what she had seen, but with out much time to analyze the situation, her instincts told her to hide it. "I got to clean out some papers here, I'm going to be a while."  
  
"Oh," Kitty looked at her as if she wasn't going to buy any of it, "Ok, I'll see you at lunch then…" Kitty walked off slowly, eventually turning around to make it over to the hallway with her locker in it.  
  
Rogue opened her locker again, to see the Ace of Hearts in her locker. She picked it up in her fingers, as the first bell rang. She stood there a little stunned, and then shook her head, as if coming back to reality. She quickly slid the card into her back pocket and got her books for her morning classes. 


	4. Fire in the hole!

Chapter 4  
  
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Remy walked into his French class, her French class, their French class. He looked at her as he walked by, but she averted her eyes. His smirk widened as he took the seat that was two seats behind her. Her shoulders tensed as if she knew he was watching her. His smirk widened. He then saw a playing card sticking out of her back pocket. His smirk became a smile.  
  
Remy glanced at his watch. "One more minute…" he said it just above a whisper, it was for her ears only, and he knew she had heard. Her shoulders immediately loosened, and he could just imagine the confusion that was no doubt on her face.  
  
Rogue hesitated. 'One more minute till what?' she thought. She started to turn to ask him, but stopped, remembering who was behind her in the first place. She snapped back to facing front, hoping he hadn't noticed her move in the first place.  
  
"Fifty seconds…" Remy rested his head on his hand as he gazed out the window as if nothing of importance was going to happen.  
  
'Till what!' Rogue screamed inside her head. 'Maybe… maybe it's a… a… a BOMB! What if it's a bomb Rogue?!' her eyes darted from side to side as she continued to debate turning around. 'I have to know… It could be dangerous… lives could be at stake…' she panicked, 'or maybe its just a bluff, nothings going to happen, its just his sick idea of an ice breaker.'  
  
"Forty seconds…" Remy kept his voice down, he could tell by her restless motions she had heard him, and was no doubt anxious about what he was counting down for. He smirked. "Thirty-five seconds…"  
  
'Don't turn around! Don't give in!' Rogue began to breath heavier, 'I have to know... I have to…' 'DON'T TURN AROUND!' before she could continue arguing with herself, she took the initiative, she turned slowly to look at him, "What are you counting down?"  
  
Remy was a little surprised, as if he had expected her to last longer. Though you would have never guessed it by looking at his face. "Well chere, Remy got you a little gift." He paused as he removed his head from his hand. "You like gifts, no?"  
  
"Not from you I don't." Rogue crossed her arms sternly, but then looked down at the floor, "What is it? I mean, I don't care what it is but… why are you counting down?"  
  
Remy smiled as he looked at his watch, "Well chere, you'll find out in about twenty seconds." He smiled wider as her face appeared more nervous.   
  
"What did you do?!" she demanded as she brought her gaze back to his face.  
  
He smiled and tilted his head a little to one side, "Did you do your French homework?"  
  
'What was he getting at?' Rogue's forehead scrunched smaller as she looked at him confused, "What's going to happen in twenty seconds?"  
  
"Well now it's more like fifteen, but did you do your French homework?"  
  
"Well, no, I didn't, I … I was… I was a little preoccupied last night. I never got around to it."  
  
Remy smiled, "No doubt thinking of moi, no?"  
  
"Don't be so sure of yourself Cajun! But what did u do, what's going to happen in… in…?"  
  
"Ten seconds? Oh nothing, just a favor…" He smiled and winked at her as she morphed from confusion to rage. Her mouth worked up and down as she began to hurl insults but was cut off, "five…four…" Remy lifted up three fingers. He let one down, leaving two. Then another, leaving only one. His smile grew. With a flip of his wrist, his remaining finger pointed up at the load speaker above the doorway of the classroom.  
  
Rogue's eyes followed his pointing finger, as if not by choice. As soon as she was facing the door, the fire alarm went off. Her jaw just dropped, while everyone else in the classroom stood up and began talking.  
  
"Everyone please!" the teacher tried to get everyone's attention, "Please get in a single file line and keep quiet. This fire drill was NOT scheduled, and should be kept very serious!"  
  
The teacher continued to bark orders at the mob of talkative students. But Rogue was left to her thoughts. 'How did he? How did he know?' she shook her head in disbelief. 'He must have started a fi-' but she was cut off as a hand gently pulled her out of her seat.  
  
"Come on chere," he smiled as her eyes went to his, "This fire drill was NOT scheduled, and should be kept very serious!" he said as he did his best to not talk through his own French accent, and assume the old raspy voice of their French teacher.  
  
Rogue did not smile, and instead pulled her hand out of his own. "How did you?…" her head still shaking in disbelief.  
  
"Magic…" Remy shrugged his shoulders, but smirked wildly, as if saying he knew exactly what happened but was not about to tell her.  
  
"Magic? Magic?!" her eyes widened, "You mean your powers?" her voice dropped in volume.  
  
"Oh you're a smart one chere." He said with a hint of sarcasm. He linked his arm in hers and began towards the door.  
  
Rogue walked with him a bit, still thrown off by how, by what he had done, by why… She shook out of his arm "Why?!"  
  
He looked at her, this time showing his confusion. "Remy has already been over this, it's a gift." He smiled at his own generosity, though she obviously did not see how any of this was in her best interest.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
He sighed and shook his head, "And just when Remy went and called you smart…" He looked at her again, and smiled "You didn't do your homework. Now you won't get in trouble chere."  
  
"But…" Rogue looked form his right eye to his left, and back again, "You didn't know that I didn't do it until after you set up what ever the hell you set up…"  
  
"Call it a lucky guess, Remy, … Remy can sense these things ok?" He looked at her, waiting for anything to click. "Look we got to go, don't they take attendance out side or something? Come on." Remy took her arm again. After only a few steps, she shook out of his grasp, but continued to follow him down the hall.  
  
"Where are we going, I think the rest of the class is over that way…"  
  
Remy shrugged his shoulders, "No, I saw an exit over here, we'll be fine." He reached back and grabbed her wrist, pulling her a little faster. "Come on."  
  
The two made a few quick turns and went through a pair of doors. Rogue found her self in the courtyard, outside, but nowhere near where all the students were to meet. "Why are we here?" Rogue looked through a few of the windows into completely empty classrooms, when she suddenly felt a hand on her butt. She turned around quickly to see Remy with a wild smirk. "How dare you!" she raised her hand to smack him, when she saw him raise his hand to her eye level. He held a card, her card, the Ace of hearts.  
  
"I see you found my gift." His smile widened as her face became more plastered with anger.  
  
"I… I was… I was just looking for a garbage can to throw that into!" she spat the words at him, not even convincing her self of those intentions.  
  
"Really?" his right eyebrow lifted. "And you just couldn't find a garbage can in your other three classes this morning?"   
  
"Well no! I mean… I just couldn't find the time to…"  
  
He cut her off by placing his two gloved fingers over her lips. He shook his head laughing to himself, as he looked down to the ground in between them. "Chere, you don't have to explain yourself to Remy…" he laughed a little more as he lowered his hand, and clicked a button on his watch. He raised his head to look at her in the eyes, with his eyes, his real eyes.  
  
Rogue almost forgot how angry she was at that moment when she saw his eyes. "Those eyes…" she said to her self. She stared blankly. Then it hit her. "It was you!" she shouted and backed away a little as she raised a finger to point at Remy.  
  
"Yeah, Remy made the fire alarms go off, we've been over this…"  
  
"No, no… it was you… in my dream this morning…" her hand went up to her temple, as she lowered her eyes to the ground. The dream suddenly rushing back to her like she had just run into a wall. All at once, it flowed into her mind.  
  
Remy chuckled, "Knew you were to "preoccupied" last night thinking of moi to do your homework." Remy laughed harder. "Just didn't know Remy was already in your dreams."  
  
"NO! no, not like that." She dropped her arm to look him in the face. "I'm not even sure it was you… I just, I just think it was you. That's all."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So what?"  
  
"Was Remy any good?" his smirk returned as Rogue blushed with anger. "Don't bother to answer that, Remy is always good, even in dreams."  
  
"We didn't… !" Rogue shook her head as she clenched her hands into fists she turned and walked back to the door they had come out of. She paused in front of the door, half open. With out looking behind her she said, "Just leave me alone Swamp Rat." She started through the door, but then stopped again, "Oh, and don't you EVER call me "Roguey" again!"  
  
With that she was gone, and Remy was alone. He looked at the Ace in his hands, and began to laugh. "Roguey?" He laughed harder, having forgotten the nickname he had given her yesterday. "Oh that was a good one chere, you will definitely be hearing that one again soon."   
  
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Remy regained his composure, and walked to the very same door Rogue had just exited from. 'Why waist a perfectly good unsupervised hallway?' he thought as he walked down the deserted hallway. He stopped, and looked to his right. There on the wall was a fire alarm. Remy laughed a little to himself as he reached for the little lever that read 'Pull incase of fire'  
  
Using his kinetic energy, Gambit charged the lever, and it began to glow. He stood there a moment, and then went on his way. "Five minutes…" he said out loud to himself as he walked down the hallway, and out the front doors.  
  
He made his way to the parking lot and got onto a motorcycle. "Four minutes... " He sat there, looking intently on the students and teachers making there way back into the school. Fire trucks drove by him, on their way back to the station from their "false alarm" Remy smiled. He started his bike and pulled out of the spot. As much as he would have wanted to stay and watch everyone leave the school again, and the fire trucks return, he figured it was for the best that he use this time to escape, instead of during the havoc of what was now three and a half minutes away. He smiled wider, as he sped out of the parking lot and down the road.  
  
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(A/N: I figured you guys wouldn't let it down if I didn't let you know how he made the alarms go off.  
  
Thanks everyone for the awesome reviews, I really didn't expect any feed back at all, and then like BAM right off the bat I get a bunch of real positive things. Thanks so much ^_^  
  
A bunch of you mentioned to not let Rogue give in so easily, and trust me, that is DEFINITELY not going to happen. Well it will eventually, but those fan fics that have her go all mushy every time she sees him, I don't know, that's just not what this ones going to be at all. The reason Gambit and Rogue are my favorite X-men Couple, is because of how much they don't get along, you know? I mean, they are made perfectly for each other, but there relationship is anything but perfect. I love how persistent Gambit is, and how reluctant Rogue is to let him close to her. But in the end they do end up loving each other, and its smooth sailing from they're on right? WRONG!  
  
Even after saying they love each other, Gambit's past has to come back to haunt them, time and time again. That's why the whole Jean/Scott relationship is so boring to me. I mean, no real struggles, no real problems, other than them feeling weird around the other x-men. (Well besides the whole Jean being possessed by a phoenix, but that's a whole other story line all together…)  
  
any who… thanks again for all the great reviews!!  
  
p.s. I'm no good at naming the chapters, please suggest names for these past four chapters in your reviews. 


	5. finding your 'mark'

(AN: First off, I apologize for the delay, but in my defense, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!! *la la la la la* I know that must make LESS sense as to why I'm posting today, but my uncle came over from Seattle for the week, and my dad took me and him up to NY to go to the Base Ball Hall of Fame and other Birthday goodies like that, so I have been in and out of the state, let alone the computer room.  
  
I feel so weird at this point in my story, its like, I have so many funny ideas, and situations in my head for later on in the plot. But I have to get from point A to point B you know? *Sighs* don't worry, I'm not going to rush through her warming up to him just to get to this one part, ^_^ I smile just thinking of the stuff I have planned for them. lol  
  
so long story short, I'm sorry you had to wait, I'm glad its my birthday, I have good things in store, and I won't sacrifice the good stuff now to get to that stuff. "Girl scout's Honor!" (Though that doesn't mean a whole lot, I was only a brownie for like 2 years… but it's the point of the thing.) Any way, on with the story, fyi, its so hard to try to come up with original situations between these two characters that I haven't seen played out a million bazillion times in other fan fics. That's why I am so proud of the whole fire alarm thing, cause I see that as something he would do, but it hasn't been done to death, in fact I done it to life (some how that sounded dirtier than I meant it to)  
  
speaking of which, I'm not sure if everyone really got what he did there. He didn't start a fire with his powers, he just kind of made a tiny explosion to break the 'pull incase of fire' lever, so the alarm would go off. I was so proud of myself for just coming up with the idea; I don't think I explained it to well, sorry about that. I got a couple e-mails about that.  
  
Any way, NOW on with the story.)  
  
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Chapter 5  
  
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"I mean, can you believe it?" Kitty asked her roommate as the exited the school. "Like the first fire drill happened, and then once we get back to our seats, another one goes off."  
  
"Yeah, pretty weird..." Rogue trailed off, not actually listening to what Kitty was saying.  
  
"I don't think they were planned." Kitty adjusted the weight of her backpack on her shoulder, "My math teacher looked really surprised when the alarms went off, and like, don't the teachers always know about fire drills?" Kitty looked at Rogue, half-heartedly expecting some sort of response, "Are you listening to me at all?"  
  
Rogue shook her head a little, "Yeah of course I am… with the alarms… and the teachers not knowing…" Rogue hoped by taking her time and looking offended, Kitty would feel to guilty about accusing her of not listing in the first place, so she wouldn't have to go into details over something she wasn't actually paying attention to.  
  
It worked. "Right…" Kitty looked down at her feet, obviously feeling self-conscience. "SO do you think someone started a fire?" she lifted her head, and looked at Rogue.  
  
Kitty had hit a nerve, and noticed right away. Rogue's forehead scrunched together, and she appeared very annoyed over the discussion. "I don't know. I think…" she paused. "I don't know."  
  
"What do you know?!" Kitty suddenly realized Her roommate was withholding information, "Tell me!"  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes at Kitty's begging. "Its nothing really, I don't think…" she wanted to leave it at that, not wanting to tell stories when she didn't even have all the facts herself. But Kitty's eyes urged her to continue. "I know Gambit had something to do with it, but I don't know how he did what ever the hell he did."  
  
"How do you know it was him?"  
  
"He told me-" She was cut off  
  
"What?!" Kitty stopped walking towards the parking lot, grabbed Rogue's shoulders, and turned her towards her self. "What did he say?!" Kitty's eyes jumped from one of Rogue's eyes to the other and back again in a way that made Rogue feel very uncomfortable when combined with the girl's hands digging into her shoulders.  
  
"Magic…" Rogue whispered to her self as she remembered their conversation that morning. She blinked her eyes hard, bringing them to Kitty's. Rogue then pushed Kitty's arms off of hers. "I don't know, He used his powers or something." She looked as someone walked by them, reminding her that school was over. "Look we got to go. Scott's waiting."  
  
"We aren't getting a ride home today." Kitty smirked as she realized she to was withholding information.  
  
"And why is that exactly?" Rogue crossed her arms.  
  
"Well I was thinking about what you said, and your totally right."  
  
"Well of course I am right!" she said almost defensively. "But what was I right about this time?"  
  
"My alarm clock. Me phasing through it has like permanently fried it. I don't even think Beast could fix it up."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So," Kitty continued, "You are going to go to the store with me to buy a new one."  
  
"Wait, do I HAVE to go, I mean there is a car right over there that's ready to take me back to the institute…"  
  
"But Rogue, it was your idea in the first place…" Kitty's lower lip extended and her eyes became the perfect example of 'puppy-dog-eyes'.  
  
'God damn it, she is to good at that' Rogue thought. "Fine, I'll go." Kitty immediately smiled. "But I'm not going cause I feel bad or anything, but because if I don't go you'll come home with a SpongeBob SquarePants clock or something. And I know I couldn't handle waking up to THAT every morning…"  
  
"Of course!" Kitty tried to hide her excitement, but did a horrible job of it. "We'll just walk over a few blocks to the Bayville Mall."  
  
Rogue shuddered a bit at the mention of that place. She rarely went there, and if she had, it was to make fun of the preps with Ritsy… she didn't want to think about her right now.  
  
"You ok?"  
  
"Yeah fine." Rogue regained her self. "Lets just go give our backpacks to Scott so we don't have to carry them around with us in the… mall." She had a little trouble saying it. Combined with her detest with the place to begin with, it reminded her of her old 'friend' al well.  
  
"Ok yeah, good idea." The two girls walked off to the car. Scott let them put their bags in the back seat. Kurt had looked a little upset that his 'winning' the front seat was in vein, because Kitty had not even tried. But he tried not to show it. They then walked off towards the mall.  
  
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"I'm getting kind of hungry." Rogue put her hands over her stomach. The two girls had been walking for half an hour and were almost at the mall. They were now stopped at a corner. A small crowd formed around them. Everyone was waiting for the sign to change, saying they could cross the street.  
  
"Sure, there's a Dinner right next to the mall, we can stop there before we go get my clock." Kitty looked over to Rogue, noticing she was a little tense from being near so many people. "You ok?"  
  
Rogue looked intently at the sign, as if she had the will power to make it change. "I'll be fine… I just hope the light changes soon."   
  
After a few moments, the light changed, allowing the crowd to cross the street. Rogue sighed as she let the crowd dissipate around her, before following Kitty across the street. Her shoulders loosened, as she felt less and less worried about bumping into anyone.  
  
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Remy watched for a 'mark'. He surveyed the crowd of people forming at a street corner. He picked out a man who appeared to be by him self. Remy could see the top of his wallet from the man's back pocket. Remy smiled. To him, pick pocketing was an art. The rush was no where near what he gets from a big heist, or even from riding on his motorcycle, but Magneto had told him to stay out of the papers. Though Magneto did assign him large heists, he hadn't heard word of a mission for a few weeks.  
  
He gingerly pulled out the man's wallet, opening it; he pulled out what cash was there, and in its place slid a playing card, his business card. He smirked as he slid the wallet back into the man's pocket. Most thieves would have taken the wallet, and not risked getting caught, but Gambit's not like most thieves, Gambit's the king of thieves.  
  
He folded the money with the rest of his winnings that day. He counted up all of it. 'Deux cent trente sept' [two hundred and thirty seven] he thought as he smiled at the amount. 'Not to bad for not really trying' Gambit wasn't really after the money this time; he was just bored and looking for something to pass the time.  
  
His head popped up from looking at his pocket when he heard a very familiar voice. He smiled. Gambit made his way into the crowd as he came up behind Rogue and Kitty. He listened to their conversation, and then got an idea.  
  
Slowly Gambit reached into Rogue's back pocket, removing her wallet, and extracting the money. 'Trente' [thirty] he placed the wallet back into her pocket, with out a playing card. He smiled as the light changed, signaling to cross. Rogue didn't move at first, which worried him, 'Did she notice? She couldn't have noticed…' but his concerns were diminished as she stepped out off the curb and crossed the street. He slipped her money into a different pocket.  
  
Gambit smiled as he pursued the two girls, keeping quite a distance between them. He fought the urge to open the door for Rogue as they entered the Dinner. He waited a moment, looking in the window to make sure a waitress was leading them to a seat. He entered the Dinner, making sure neither of them would see him, and made his way to a booth in the opposite corner of where they sat.  
  
"Sir, you can't seat your self, you have to-" Gambit raised his chin to look up at the waitress. She had shoulder length light brown hair, which the top half was pulled up in a bun behind her head. She wore slender glasses over her blue eyes, and looked just under twenty. Gambit gave her a heart-stopping smile, which apparently had done just that. She almost fell backwards behind her, but caught her self quickly.  
  
"What were you saying belle?" he said smoothly through his accent as he noticed the change in her expression. He recognized that expression, and it never seemed to get old.  
  
The waitress's mouth opened, but nothing came out.  
  
"Remy is not ready to order right now, he will definitely be sure to flag YOU down when he is ready, ok?" his hand went up to gently rub her forearm as he begged childishly with his eyes.  
  
"….sure…" she smiled as she slowly walked away. She finally turned around after backing into some customers who were waiting to be seated. She walked them to a table, and periodically glanced over to Gambit, who was now rolling a card through his fingers as he watched Rogue and Kitty. 


	6. The NOT A Date!

Chapter 6  
  
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"You're done right?" Rogue looked up at Kitty who was just finishing off her soda.  
  
Kitty released the straw after hearing a familiar sound of air rushing in from the bottom. "Yeah, you ready to go?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll just flag the waitress down for the check." Rogue slumped in her chair a little to pull her wallet out of her back pocket.  
  
"Ok… Hey, um…" Kitty hesitated, "do you mind paying for my food. I mean, I have enough to pay for myself, but then I wouldn't have enough for the clock, I just figured I could like, pay you back when we get back to the mansion."  
  
Rogue seemed annoyed at her request, but the expression faded. "Yeah, sure I guess. I got enough money for it. Just make sure you pay me back ok?" Rogue gave Kitty a look that clearly said 'Cause if you don't...' Kitty quickly nodded, she understood exactly what would happen if she didn't, or rather she knew she didn't want to find out.  
  
Rogue opened her wallet and her eyes widened. She flipped through the multiple compartments, but nothing was there. "What's wrong?" Kitty asked as she idly pushed some French fries around on her plate.  
  
"My moneys… gone…" rogue checked the rest of her pockets, turning up only a few coins.  
  
"Some one took your money?" Kitty's eyes widened as well. "Who would take your money? Are you sure you just took it out of your wallet or something before school?"  
  
Rogue glared across the table at Kitty. "I KNOW I put my money in here this morning." She noticed the Waitress walking towards them, and her annoyed expression faded to one of concern. "I'm sorry Kitty. You're going to have to pay for the food, and I guess we will come back to get the alarm clock tomorrow." She placed her wallet down on the table near the edge. "Look, if you pay for the food, then I'll pay for the new alarm clock ok?"  
  
"Yeah, sure… I guess. I mean, tomorrow is Saturday, so we don't really need to get up early tomorrow anyway right?" Kitty smiled, and so did Rogue feeling less like she had ruined anything, even though she knew it wasn't her fault. "Who do you think took your money?"  
  
"I don't know, I think I would have noticed if some one had taken my wallet out of my pocket, so it must have been before we left the mansion."  
  
"Makes sense. But who would have gone in our room? I mean Kurt is the only one that even comes in our room, and I know he wouldn't have taken your money."  
  
Rogue's eyes squinted a little. "Well maybe I'll just have a talk with the elf when we get home."  
  
"Rogue, you don't think he actually took it do you-" but Kitty was cut off when the Waitress approached the table.  
  
"Are you two done? Can I get you anything else?" The waitress asked with her pencil ready to take down any more orders.  
  
"No, we just need the check." Kitty said as she reached for her purse to pull out her money. But she stopped when she felt the waitress' hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that, your meals have already been paid for. I just wanted to know if you wanted anything else." With that the woman walked away towards the bar area.  
  
Both girls looked at each other, very confused. "Did she just say we already paid?" Rogue asked Kitty in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, I wonder what she meant." Kitty said as she looked back to Rogue who now had a very annoyed look on her face.  
  
"I think I know exactly what happened…" Rogue said as she crossed her arms. Her eyes were on something at the other end of the dinner. Kitty followed Rogues eyes to see what, or rather who she was looking at. Kitty gasped.  
  
"Bonjour mon cherie." Gambit was now leaning on the small wall behind Kitty's seat in the booth. He smiled at Rogue, but when he was only met with an icy glare, he turned his attentions to Kitty. "And who is your belle ami, chere?" Gambit reached for her hand and kissed it as he bowed a little.  
  
Kitty blushed, and fought back a bought of giggles. "My… my name is Kitty Pryde." She said softly while looking at her hand.  
  
Rogue's face became red with anger. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you to leave me alone!"  
  
Gambit glanced over to Rogue and smiled softly. He then returned his attention to the brunette. "Well Miss Kitty," Gambit laid the charm on thick, "Would you please excuse us. Remy needs to have a little talk with his blonde." [blonde means girlfriend]  
  
Rogue's jaw dropped as she focused on Kitty. Her eyes clearly said 'Don't leave me with this creep!' but Kitty never even gave her a glance. She couldn't possibly pull herself away from his eyes. She silently nodded, as Gambit helped her out of the booth and sent her on her way.  
  
Rogue sat there in complete disbelief. 'How could she leave me like that?' she asked herself. But before she could answer that question, even before she could get out of the seat, Gambit was sitting next to her on her side of the booth. He was smirking wildly.  
  
Gambit placed his hand on the table and slowly pulled her wallet off the table and onto his lap, he knew she would not notice. Even being this close to her, she was to focused on his face, and how she was going to express whatever anger was building up. "Chere, what's wrong?"  
  
Her face contorted with anger as she gazed back at his face of pure innocence. It was like he honestly didn't understand what could have possibly made her this angry. She gave a sarcastic laugh as she released some of her anger.  
  
"What's so funny mon cherie?" Gambit slid the wallet back onto the table, making it look like he was just shifting his weight to see her better.  
  
Rogue shook her head, "I can't believe you sometimes… all the time." She laughed again. "I know you know exactly what your doing to me… and that your doing it on purpose to annoy me…. But every time I go to yell at you, you give me some look, like you don't understand…" she looked angry again, but this time at herself for saying anything to him about what was going on in her head 'Oh great, now he KNOWS he is getting to you.'  
  
Remy just smiled reassuringly. "What makes you think Remy is trying to annoy you? Have you ever considered that maybe, just maybe, he just want to get to know a belle fillie?" Remy ran on of his gloved fingers over her face to gently push away a strand of white hair that was obstructing his view. Rogue moved her face away from his touch.  
  
"Don't touch me…" she said it softly, and though no tears came to her eyes, she knew they were there, just waiting for her to get upset. They sat there in silence for a few moments. Rogue tried desperately to not think about her powers, to not think of the jerk next to her, and to not think about how Kitty had just left them. Remy had reached over to Kitty's plate, and ate a few of her left over French fries. "What are you doing?" Rogue looked accusingly at him.  
  
"Hey if Remy paid for the meal, he gets to eat something." He said it nonchalantly and casually continued to eat.  
  
"Why did you pay for the food?"  
  
"A gentlemen always pays for a fillie's meal." He took his attention away from Kitty's plate, and placed his gaze squarely on Rogue's. "It wouldn't be a date if Remy didn't pay for everything." He smirked as her temper made another appearance.  
  
"This is NOT a date!" she said sternly through slender eyes.  
  
"How is it not? We are here together…" He moved his face closer to hers, "Alone…" still closer, "I bought you food…" he was now whispering to her only a few inches from her face. He never lost her eye contact.  
  
Rogue bit her bottom lip. 'He is so close…' she thought as she looked down at his lips that were an inch away from hers. She could feel his breath on her face. She let out a silent sigh. 'He is so close!' Rogue pushed him out of the booth and onto the floor. Remy seemed only amused by her efforts as she grabbed her wallet and stormed out of the dinner. He laughed as the patrons on the dinner turned to look at him as he picked him self up and dusted him self off.  
  
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Rogue found herself sitting on a bench inside the mall. She didn't want to walk home, knowing he would without doubt find her. She just wanted to sit there, and get her thoughts together, before she even tried to make her way home. 'Maybe he doesn't understand…' she thought to herself. 'Maybe he doesn't really understand what my powers are. It was all to easy to hide behind all this gothic make up and attitude. Everyone just kept his or her distance. And that's what I wanted, right?' she shook her head as she looked down to her feet. 'Of course that's what I wanted. No one can ever get close to me. I would only hurt them. He doesn't understand at all!'  
  
Her anger was building up again, and she noticed her clenching her own fists. She took a deep breath. Ever sense her powers went haywire, all the adults at the mansion were telling her to try and keep her moods in check. It was enough of a task for any teenager, with out the treat of beams shooting out of her eyes.  
  
"Hey Rogue!" Rogue looked up to see kitty running over to her with some bags in her hands. She sat down on the bench next to her. "Oh man, I'm so sorry I left you alone. I don't know what came over me."  
  
Rogue didn't say anything. Being reminded of her last confrontation with Remy wasn't helping her calm down. 'Not Remy, Gambit!' she told her self. 'Gambit is the enemy.'  
  
"Are you ok?" Kitty looked concerned as she dropped the bags on the floor in front of her.  
  
"I'm fine!" Rogue said defensively as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Atleast I'll be fine…"  
  
"Its about me leaving you isn't it? I'm so totally sorry, I don't know what it was, its like he tricked me or something… I'm really REALLY sorry Rogue."  
  
Rogue sighed. She knew it wasn't Kitty's fault, as much as she may have wanted it to be. Not because she wanted to be mad at Kitty in particular, but being able to point the anger inside her at anyone would allow her to vent. "I know Kitty… Its ok."  
  
"I called the mansion on a pay phone a while ago; someone's coming to pick us up. I was just hoping I could find you before anyone got here."  
  
"Did you find a new alarm?"  
  
"Yeah, and don't worry, its not a SpongeBob SquarePants clock." Kitty smiled after noticing Rogue's face lighten up a little.  
  
"Good…" Rogue trailed off. "Do you know who is coming to get us?"  
  
"No clue." But Kitty was cut short when they both saw a very familiar figure at the doors in front of them.  
  
"Half-pint, Stripes, lets go." the two girls got up and began to pick up Kitty's bags. They followed Logan out the doors and into the X-van. Rogue and Kitty got in the back and Buckled up. Logan wasn't much for talking. So Kitty and Rogue silently decided to stay silent.  
  
Kitty was intently reading the back of the box on her new alarm clock. While Rogue was absentmindedly rolling her wallet imbedded her two hands. She had never put it back in her pocket, and now that she was sitting down, she couldn't. She casually flipped it open, and almost gasped when she saw her money was back. And along side the bills, was a playing card, the ace of hearts.  
  
Rogue assumed that Gambit had used her money to pay for their food. 'What a jerk." She thought as she pulled out the money to count it. But all thirty dollars was back. She silently cursed at him, as the X-Van pulled into the mansion's gates.  
  
(A/N: Ok, like I said, I got some cool stuff coming up, and I am trying my absolute hardest not to rush through any of the fights. I don't really love these past two chapters as much as the four before them. I mean, I kin of like the confrontation between Rogue and Remy, but I think I screwed up Kitty a little. I don't know, I just don't like how Kitty and Rogue were in these two chapters. I mean its not horrible, but… I don't know, maybe I'm just being to picky…  
  
Any way, so, I got to go celebrate my Birthday…I should be able to get some new chapters in by this week end, so look out for that. Thanks again for all the awesome Reviews!!!) 


	7. Wayne's World

(A/N: thank you EVERYONE for the reviews. but a special thanks to x-silver-saffire-x. Just so you guys all know, I took Spanish, not French. All the French in here I got from an online translater. I appreciate any input on how horrible the French actually is, I mean, if I do something horribly wrong like this again, please tell me in the reviews and I'll fix it up lickity-split ^_^  
  
Ok, in this chapter, I wrote in a flash back, because i wanted to see if I could write one... that's it. So tell me how I do with going about the whole flash back thingy. I'm sorry if any of you find flashbacks annoying. Secondly, its a very long story, but basically my computer decided to not want to work anymore, so I am on my mom's pc right now, which doesn't have Microsoft word, or anything with a spell check. so I am REALLY trying to proof read this one more than usual, but cut me a little slack if there are any typos.  
  
Ok enjoy!)  
  
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Chapter 7  
  
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Rogue woke up from her dream in a cold sweat. Her heart felt like it was going to jump right out of her chest. She tried to calm down her breathing. Slowly, she sat up in her bed and looked at the new digital clock Kitty had bought that afternoon. In glowed 1:56 in bright green numbers.  
  
'Some dream.' she thought. 'It felt so real...' She felt tears build up behind her eyes, but she would not let them flow down her face. "But it wasn't real... and it never will be." she said quietly to herself as she gingerly got out of her bed. Rogue made her way down the hallway of the dorm wing, and over to the stairs leading to the roof. She tried her hardest to not hit any of the creaky boards or stairs, but luck had never really been on her side.  
  
Rogue sat down on a flatter section of the roof. She could see Storm's garden, and the baseball field. She sighed as her thoughts quickly left the view, and went to the dream she had just had. "It was more of a nightmare." She said quietly, even though no one would have been able to hear her anyway.  
  
The dream had been like a slide show. No real line of thought took her from one dream to the next. She would be living out one where she was having a water gun fight with Kurt and Bobby, and then the next thing she knew, she was in Remy's arms. 'Gambit's arms!' she corrected herself. She frowned a little as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.  
  
'I can't believe I had a dream about HIM...' She shook her head. 'It just felt so real. For a while I was having dreams with Kitty, and Kurt, or one of the other kids at the institute, and they were fun... and I don't really get nearly enough fun...' She picked her chin up to look at the sky. 'But towards the end, I had to go and have dreams about HIM!' She exhaled slowly, trying to keep it as smooth as possible. 'When he was holding me... it felt so real. I could have sworn it was really happening. I could feel his hands in mine...' She put a hand to her lips. ' And his lips on mine...'  
  
"NO!" she almost shouted as she stood up. "Don't even think like that Rogue, you already know there's no point. You'll just get more depressed by him being close to you." She brought her hands to the sides of her head. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" But she already knew the answer to that question.  
  
Earlier that day, she had gotten in a fight with a bunch of her fellow X-men. Well actually, they had had a fight with her.  
  
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(A/N: at this point I imagine Wayne and Garth doing the flash back noise and wiggling their arms, just so you can have a glimpse of what's in my head...) (Just incase you don't know, that's from Wayne's World...SNL...)  
  
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Kitty and Rogue walked into the mansion and into the Rec room, which was surprisingly empty for a Friday night. After the long, completely quiet ride home from the mall in the X-Van, Kitty was the first to break the silence as the two girls sat on a couch. "So... like what happened after I... left?"  
  
Rogue looked down at her feet. Nothing had happened, nothing important, but she didn't want to talk about it. But better to tell Kitty now, than at school in public, because she would no doubt keep bugging her about this through the weekend. At least they were alone. "Nothing really... I guess..."  
  
"What did he say to you? He didn't just leave did he?"  
  
Rogue could feel Kitty's eyes on her, and she lifted her face to meet her gaze. "He just blabbed on about something, I don't even remember... at least not after I found this in my wallet." Rogue held up the ace of hearts that Gambit had slid into her wallet.  
  
Kitty gasped and her eyes widened. "So he picked your pocket?!"  
  
"Yes!" Rouge's face softened a bit, "Well kind of... he did, but he didn't take my money..."  
  
Kitty looked on at Rogue, unable to really say what was on her mind, but her eyes said it for her. Her eyes clearly said 'I don't understand.'  
  
Rogue lowered her hands to her lap. "Well, at sometime, he must have picked my pocket, and taken my money. But then when I left the Diner, my money was back. I don't know what he was doing..."  
  
"Are you sure it was him?"  
  
Rogue held up the card again and raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure."  
  
"Oh..." Both girls fell silent for a moment, contemplating why he would have done it. "Maybe it was so you wouldn't have money to pay for your meal..." Kitty said it softly, as if only to herself.  
  
"What?! That doesn't even make sense! He paid for the food anywa-" Rogue stopped mid sentence, understanding what Kitty had meant. "He made it so He had to pay..."  
  
"Its... well... Its ALMOST sweet." Kitty smiled trying to ease Rogue out of her sudden anger.  
  
"Sweet?! No, don't even joke about that."  
  
"No I mean, he wanted to buy you dinner. That's pretty sweet. And honestly, you would have never let him do it if you didn't have a choice."  
  
"Are you standing up for him?!"  
  
"No, I just think... He had good intentions."  
  
"He stole my money!"  
  
"Well he gave it back."  
  
"But he STOLE it in the first place!"  
  
"Calm down! Jeez, I'm saying I don't think the ends justify the means, but it was a nice thought for him to buy you dinner."  
  
Before Rogue could Even get her next thought out, she heard a familiar German voice "Who bought Rogue dinner?!" His blue arms were crossed over his chest as he walked into the room. Kurt's eyes were filled with disapproval.  
  
Rogue looked at Kitty, and then back to Kurt. "No Kurt, Its not what you think..." Rogue looked over to Kitty for help.  
  
"Its a long story, its nothing really."  
  
"Tell me!" Kurt suddenly looked very much like Rogue's brother. He seemed overly protective at the moment, and it was obvious he did not like the idea of anyone going on a date with Rogue, at least not with out him knowing about it.  
  
Rogue shifted in her seat, not making eye contact with either Kurt or Kitty. 'Nothing happened, why don't you tell them!' she thought as she raised her chin, about to explain her self.  
  
Kurt's jaw dropped as he looked from Rogue to Kitty. "Its that Gambit isn't it? The henchman for Magneto you told be was in Rogue's French class?"   
  
Kitty's face went pale as Rogue turned to her. "You told him?! How could you, I told you what happened in confidence!"  
  
Kitty suddenly got her bearings back. "You said it wasn't a big deal, I just assumed..."  
  
Rogue's voice got louder. "You assumed what?! That I wanted everyone in here to know how annoying he is?! I don't need them talking behind my back!"  
  
"But you said you were going to tell everyone anyway."  
  
"No I didn't! I said I was going to tell the professor! I can't believe you Kitty. Who else did you tell?!"  
  
Kurt suddenly butted into the argument. "What happened today?"  
  
Rogue turned her attention to Kurt. "Nothing!"  
  
"Did he buy you dinner?" Kurt's hands went to his hips.  
  
"No! that's not what-"  
  
Suddenly Bobby and Jubilee were in the Rec room, having been drawn to the screaming like moths to a flame. "What's going on?" Bobby asked as he noticed the death glare coming from Rogue.  
  
Kurt turned to the new recruits. "Gambit Bought Rogue dinner."  
  
"WOA!" Shouted Bobby and Jubilee. "But he is the enemy!" They seemed to say it at the same time.  
  
"I know!" shouted Rogue turning her attention back to Kurt. "And that's NOT what happened!"  
  
Scott came running into the Rec room with his hand already on his visor. Jean was right behind him. Scott's hand dropped as he made his way to the middle of the group of yelling teens. "Whoa! Whoa! What's going on down here?"  
  
"Rogue is going out with the enemy!" shouted Jubilee, but she quickly covered her mouth after seeing the look she had gotten from Rogue. But it was to late, it was already said.  
  
"What?!" Scott turned to Rogue. "Is this true? Who? What are you thinking?!"  
  
"Nothing happened!" But all Rogue's shouts were in vain. It seemed like everyone in the room was telling her what to do, and if they weren't, they were telling someone else 'what happened', which none of them even knew.  
  
"You can't go out with the enemy!"  
  
"What are you thinking?!"  
  
"Where did they go? Did anything happened?"  
  
"He could hurt you!"  
  
"Do you even care about the team?"  
  
"Which one is he?"  
  
"How can you do this?!"  
  
It got too much. Rogue brought her hands to her ears, as she almost fell to her knees. She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!" she shouted as loud as she could manage, and the room became silent. "None of you were there! You won't even listen to me! Just leave me alone!" with that she ran out the door. She plowed over a few kids in exiting.  
  
The room was silent, until everyone heard a slurping noise. All the kids looked up to see Logan standing in the other door way with a cup of coffee in his hand. "Anyone mind telling me what the hell that was all about?"  
  
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(A/N: again with the Wayne and Garth...)  
  
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'I had made it up to my room. I stayed in there till curfew.' Rogue thought as she rubbed her legs a little for warmth. 'When Kitty came up to go to sleep, she didn't say anything to me. I liked it, but it was a little scary. Like I know everyone was talking about me after I left.'  
  
Rogue looked back up at the stars, admiring the bright full moon. Her eyes widened when she was suddenly aware of someone else on the roof with her.  
  
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(A/N: dun dun dun!! Ooo a cliffhanger... well I hate cliffhangers, so I'll at least give you a hint. A hint thats in the form of a multiple-choice question.  
  
Q: Who is on the roof with Rogue? Is it  
  
a. Storm  
  
b. Kurt  
  
c. Gambit  
  
d. Logan  
  
Now honestly, any one of those would make sense... and I don't think its obvious, and if you think it is obvious, then you are probably wrong.  
  
Anyway, I'm sorry If I missed any miss spellings. Don't bother writing reviews on some word I spelt wrong, or some name I forgot to capitalize. As soon as my new computer comes, in a few days, I will be able to Spell Check it myself.  
  
Please review with titles for any of the chapters.) 


	8. Falling Head Over Heals

(A/N: Ok, I'm really really sorry that it took a week to post this. But it is a LONG story. The jest of it is that my computer had decided to randomly stop working, and in trying to make it work, I apparently enraged the wrath of the almighty computer god, who decided to smite my computer with fire and smoke! So I just got my new tower, and it took a while to get all my files back, and to hook me up to the Internet.  
  
Ok, so I'll give you a quick re-cap of last chapter, just because it's been so long. Lets see…   
  
Rogue has a dream about Gambit. She wakes up, and goes up to the roof to sort things out. She thinks about the dream, and it's almost like her subconscious betrayed her. Then she thinks about what had happened when her, Kitty, and Logan had gotten home. Everyone had 'found out' about her and Gambit, even though in her opinion there is no her and Gambit, and everyone is over exaggerating it. Logan comes in at the end of the flashback. Then we come back to the present, and she notices she isn't alone on the roof. DUN DUN DUN!!! And that cliffhanger was where we left off.   
  
Ok, now if everyone would take out your pop quizzes from last week, and a red pen to grade them with, I will begin with the story so you can correct them. Now no cheating please, and I do award partial credit. Oh, and you all get ten points extra credit because I made you wait ^_^ Isn't this the best course!! Anyway, on with your test corrections… KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR OWN PAPER!)  
  
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Chapter 8  
  
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Gambit sat up in his bed, and rested his hands behind his head. 'No sleep for Remy tonight…' he thought as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and placed his hands at his sides.  
  
Gambit hardly ever dreamed, but whenever he closed his eyes, he would see her. He would see Rogue. 'What is it about that fillie?' Gambit never had girl troubles. He has had troubles with the Girl's family, but never troubles with the girl. 'She is belle, no doubt she is belle… but it is more than that…' Gambit looked down at his feet, almost ashamed to admit, even if only to himself, that there was more to this fillie than just her looks. 'But she is just another fillie, nothing to get worked up about!' Gambit shook his head as if to remove any thoughts of her at all. 'Got to go get some air…'  
  
Gambit stood up, and stretched his arms a little as he looked over to the clock on the wall. It said that the time was 1:12 am. Gambit pulled on his boots, and grabbed his trench coat, which was thrown over the back of a chair. He slipped one arm in as he opened the door with the other.  
  
Gambit sat on his Motorcycle. He idly twirled the keys in his right hand as he tried hard to clear his mind of anything other than the jingle of the keys. Soon enough, his thoughts went silent. He smiled solemnly as he started the bike and pulled onto the street.  
  
The night air was refreshingly cool and soothing. Gambit had no place to be right now, he was just driving where the traffic flow was low, allowing him to go as fast as he wanted. With no real destination, it was easy to loose himself in the moment, and just go where the wind took him. He noticed, when he passed the Bayville High School. The school seemed so vacant this Friday night, or should he say Saturday morning. The parking lot seemed deserted, and no lights were on inside. He pulled onward past the school.  
  
Gambit looked down at his bike, he had an almost full tank of gas. He smirked, remembering how he had treated his bike to a full tank earlier that day, after receiving some 'funds'. His smirk faded as he remembered what had also happened that afternoon. How he had found Rogue, and followed her to the diner. 'No, keep your thoughts clear homme…' Gambit pleaded with his subconscious, for what seemed like eternity, while he continued down the road. He turned a few times, paying even less attention to where he was headed.  
  
'Just forget about today, it was nothing, just a game...' he told himself, 'just to get under her skin…' Gambit pulled the bike to a halt and parked it along some trees. He suddenly became aware of the motor turning off, and snapped out of his argument with himself. 'Now where did Gambit take himself to…?' He thought as he looked around for a familiar landmark, and he found one. 'Shit!' he thought as he laid his eyes on the all to familiar gates. "Non! Ceci ne peut pas être!" [This cannot be] Gambit said out loud as his eyes made their way to the Mansion that was the X-men's base. 'How could you be so stupid!' he thought as he turned sideways and sat on the bike facing the offending mansion. 'You're trying to forget, or did you forget that?!' Gambit continued to curse at himself for even subconsciously going to the mansion, for going to her home.  
  
Suddenly a figure on the roof caught his attention. He squinted, not because of the dark, but because of the distance. 'Could it be?' he thought. 'It is, that's her… What is she doing up at two in the morning?' His forehead scrunched together as he continued to watch her on the roof. She suddenly stood up, and brought her hands to her head as if she was in pain.  
  
'I hope she is ok…' Gambit quickly shook his head and frowned, 'I WONDER if she is ok… No, I don't even care either way…' Gambit could lie to anyone, about anything, and they would take it like it was an obvious fact, but he could never lie to himself. He would never be able to convince himself he didn't care. But it would never stop him from trying.  
  
'Gambit should go check on the fillie… maybe she is hurt?' Gambit seemed annoyed at himself for even considering such a thing. "Gambit should not go 'check' on her! He doesn't need to…" but as he was saying this, he felt himself walk towards the brick fence around the perimeter of the Mansion's property. He knew all to well where, and why he was going, but he was unable to admit it to himself.  
  
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'I had made it up to my room. I stayed in there till curfew.' Rogue thought as she rubbed her legs a little for warmth. 'When Kitty came up to go to sleep, she didn't say anything to me. I liked it, but it was a little scary. Like I know everyone was talking about me after I left.'  
  
Rogue looked back up at the stars, admiring the bright full moon. Her eyes widened when she was suddenly aware of someone else on the roof with her.  
  
Rogue slowly pulled herself to her feet, as naturally as she could muster. She didn't want who ever it is to know she was aware of their presence. Right now, if they thought they were still a secret to her, it was her only advantage. She reached to slowly undo the Velcro of her gloves, but soon realized they weren't on her to begin with. This worried Rogue, even though she would have taken them off anyway, she liked to feel in control. Incase she had to, she could put them back on.  
  
Rogue took a slow calming breath as she prepared herself to turn around. She slowly pivoted her feet, and brought herself face to chest with a very familiar Cajun.  
  
She stood there a moment, as she was reminded of her dream, but soon regained her composure. 'It wasn't real!' she seemed to scream inside her head as she put her hands up to his chest. "no!" she said quietly, yet forcefully, as she pushed herself away, and out of his reach. "no!" she said again, but she soon lost her footing on the roof as one of the shingles under her right foot broke and slid down to the edge.  
  
Rogue fell onto her face, and slid down to the edge of the roof. She slid down, knocking off a few shingles on the way. She was almost able to grab onto the edge of the roof, but couldn't manage to get her fingers around the gutter. If she had, she probably would have ripped the gutter off the roof causing a lot of noise. With out even looking down, she knew that she was almost 6 stories up, and falling. "no!" she tried to scream, but her voice wasn't there.  
  
She soon felt a gloved hand on her wrist. She almost squirmed out of his grasp before remembering her current position of hanging off the roof. Rogue looked up to meet eyes with Gambit's eyes; they seemed full of concern and worry. That expression soon faded from his eyes, as if it had never happened, and at that moment, Rogue wasn't even sure if it had happened at all.  
  
"Chere, when they say 'fallen head over heels' you don't actually have to fall." Gambit said nonchalantly with a smirk.  
  
The comment, though it had made it to Rogue's ears, was not fully processed. She had much bigger problems at the moment.  
  
Gambit reached with his other hand and offered it to her. "Come on chere." He said it softly, as an order, not a plea, and Rogue found herself taking his other hand with out a second thought about it.  
  
Gambit pulled her up silently, with out showing any effort. "You ok?" he asked calmly as he put her back onto her feet.  
  
Rogue shook her head 'no' as she sat down on the roof. She bent her knees, and brought them to her chest. She examined the minor scrapes on her knees and shins. They were nothing of real concern. There was hardly any blood, and what cuts were bleeding, it was no more than if she had cut herself there shaving.  
  
Gambit sat down next to her and looked at her knees and shins. "Oh come on chere… those are nothing, just a few scrapes, maybe a bruise or two."  
  
"I know." She said solemnly as she ran her ungloved hands over her offending shins. "Its not that…I just…. I'm fine really; just leave me alone…"  
  
"You don't really want Gambit to leave you alone." He said as he pulled a small white cloth out of his pocket. He used it to gently wipe some blood from her shins.  
  
She cringed lightly at his touch, and soon grabbed the sheet from him. "I can do it myself." She gently padded her legs, and concentrated on the silence that now formed. Why was HE here, he was the last person on earth she wanted, or needed to talk to right now.  
  
She soon felt his eyes on her, but she chose not to look at him. "You should go. I'm sure someone heard all the noise I made… Some one might be here soon"  
  
"Doubt it chere, you didn't really make any noise… besides the shingles breaking off, you only slid a few feet."  
  
"You should go." she said seriously as she continued to avoid his eyes.  
  
"You want to protect Gambit from the Wolverine, non?" Gambit said as he drew a smirk onto his face. "Oh chere didn't know you cared so much about moi."  
  
"I don't care about you," she said with speed. "I just don't want anyone to see you and me together… They all got the wrong idea to begin with, I don't want to give them any evidence and let them think they are right."  
  
Gambit smiled to himself, he brought his attention to the star filled night above them. "It is beautiful non?"  
  
Rogue looked at his face confused, but noticed his upward gaze. "Yeah… I've never seen the moon so big up here… I mean back home, you could see the stars, but here near the city, its hardly ever clear like this…" Rogue didn't understand what or why she was saying to him what she had just said, but it was to late to take it back, and it was of nothing of importance to bother herself over. Its not like she went and said something stupid, or something about the X-men, it was just pointless drivel, and she felt no real remorse over it, at least she shouldn't.  
  
"Where are you from?" Gambit asked not removing his eyes from the heavens.  
  
"Mississippi…"  
  
"Well Gambit knows that already," He laughed at her vague answer. "What part of Mississippi?"  
  
"That's none of your business." Rogue dropped the slightly bloody sheet, and folded her arms across her knees.  
  
"Gambit is from New Orleans."  
  
"I didn't ask you… and I already knew that."  
  
Gambit chuckled to himself, and noticed Rogue's sour face get a little softer. "What's your name chere?"  
  
Rogue took a deep breath. "Rogue…"  
  
"Non chere, your real name…"   
  
"That's none of your business." Rogue gave him a glare, but he just smiled softly and brought his eyes back to the stars. "Why do you care so much about me?" She leaned back into her arms, which were now to her sides.  
  
"Because someone should..." the statement was so blunt, so to the point, it hit Rogue hard in the stomach. "Don't act so surprised chere; it's clear how you push everyone away, to keep them safe, to keep yourself safe. It's not fair to them, and it's definitely not fair to you." Gambit placed his hand on top of hers, and she immediately pulled it away. "See there you go again. Gambit was just trying to be comforting, and you won't accept it."  
  
"That's not it at all!" she said as she turned to face him. "I'm not wearing any gloves." She lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers a little to prove her point. She stared at him with very angry eyes.  
  
"But Gambit is wearing gloves." He lifted his hands to show her.  
  
"That's not the point!"  
  
"Then what is?!"  
  
Rogue stopped dead in her tracks. The anger melted from her eyes as she stared back into his. Now he seemed angry, angry that she was able to lie to herself for so long. 'If that wasn't the point then what was?' She searched her mind for the answer, but found only his words from before. She knew she pushed everyone away, to keep them safe, and to keep herself safe. But it didn't matter if it was 'fair' or not, it was the way things had to be. "You don't understand." She said it in a mostly calm voice as her eyes dropped to her feet. But he did understand, he was the first person to ever really understand at all.  
  
"Then explain…" he said it very softly, just above a whisper.  
  
Rogue took another deep breath. "You don't understand, you can never understand."  
  
"Not if you don't tell Gambit…"  
  
She paused at first, raising her eyes to his. Rogue took a deep breath. "If you can touch someone, if you can hug a friend when they are sad, if you can kiss someone you care about, if you can shake someone's hand, or even give someone a high five, then you can never really understand." She took another unsteady breath. Tears began to form from behind her eyes, and she tried with all her will power not to let them flow. "What I wouldn't give to have beams coming out of my eyes, or to just be able to walk through walls, or hell, I would trade places with you in a heart beat, even if it meant working for Magneto…"  
  
Gambits face became solemn, and for the first time, Rogue felt his expression was genuine, and not some fake plastered smirk. "You don't mean that chere, you don't want what Gambit's got, what he's left behind, no one does…"  
  
There was a silence between them for a few moments. Then Gambit's face smirked a little as he broke the comfortable silence. "We are a lot a like you know…"  
  
Rogue raised her head; her eyes had tears in the corners of them. She was confused, and her eyes showed it. She tried not to squint so much as to let any tears roll down her face. Gambit smiled, his face becoming more genuine again as he noticed her expression. He was about to explain, when suddenly his eyes went serious. And his neck snapped to one side. He jumped to his feet, quickly and quietly. He looked over at the entrance leading into the mansion, just as Wolverine busted through the door.  
  
Wolverine gave a low growl, before extending his claws, and lunging towards Gambit. Gambit made a dash for the edge of the mansion's roof, and gracefully dove off. Like a cat, he landed gracefully, six stories or not, with a summersault, that rolled him back onto his feet. Gambit smiled as he noticed the security systems kick in. Benches fell on to their backs, revealing guns of some kind, along with guns sporadically placed around the yard almost like lawn sprinklers. They were no problem to dodge, and he soon found himself twenty feet from the gate. He pulled out his collapsed Bo staff, and with pressing a few buttons, it extended, and he quickly pole-vaulted over the edge of the wall.  
  
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Back on the mansion's roof, Wolverine was fighting the urge to dive off after the damn Cajun. He knew he would still be able to catch up, and if not, he would hunt him down by his sent, but something was stopping him from jumping off after the acolyte. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Rogue sitting tightly in a ball. Her knees were to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around them. He had notice she was there, when he first came onto the roof, but now something caught his attention. He could see by the movement of her back, her breaths were very uneven, telling him she was most likely crying.   
  
Almost anyone else in the mansion, he would have almost purposefully walked away from, if he had noticed them crying, but not Rogue. Wolverine couldn't have forced himself off that roof, knowing she was crying. So he turned, and slowly made his way over to her.  
  
He immediately noticed a bloody rag near her side, and some dried blood on her legs. "You ok stripes?" he bent down near her, but kept a comfortable distance. He didn't want her to feel like she was trapped. He had heard 'what had happened' earlier today, and though it sounded nothing like the Rogue he knew, late night meetings with Gambit didn't help her defend herself either.  
  
Rogue didn't say anything. She tried her hardest to steady her breathing, and to calm down, but all she could think about was what Gambit had said. He had said so many things to her, and all of them had hit her hard. But she needed to calm down, if she was ever going to explain anything to anyone. Slowly her breathing became normal, and she began to speak very softly. "Nothing happened."  
  
Wolverine raised an eyebrow slightly as he pointed at her shins. "Nothing? Pretty bloody nothing if you ask me."  
  
"I fell"  
  
Wolverine shook his head, he was no detective, but that seemed to be all the clues he needed. She was covering up for something. No one just 'falls' on top of the roof, at two in the morning, with the enemy right there, and they wouldn't be crying afterwards. There wasn't any deep cuts, and nothing to be worried about, maybe she had had a light fight with the acolyte, but then why would she be covering that up? "Come on lets go."  
  
"Go where?" Rogue raised her head as Wolverine stood up, and picked her up, though mostly gently, a little forcefully by her shirt. "I can get myself back to my room."  
  
"We aren't going to your room, I want you to go see Hank in Med Lab before you go back to bed." He made his way to the door, with her close behind.  
  
"For what, these little scrapes? They are nothing, I'll be fine with some peroxide and some bandages." She argued, but she knew it was useless. She followed Wolverine into the mansion.  
  
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Dr. McCoy and Logan looked in at Rogue while she lay in the hospital bed of the Med Lab. Her legs had been treated, and she seemed a lot more collected in her thoughts. "How is she Hank?"  
  
"If you are referring to the light wounds on her legs, they have been treated, and she will no doubt be fine to make her way back to her own dorm for the remainder of the night." Dr. Hank McCoy said as he sorted through a few charts and selecting one. He gave it close attention, and then continued his reassuring smile, as if to say the chart supported his diagnosis.   
  
"But I'm not…" Logan slowly brought his attention off of Rogue and onto the Doctor. "She doesn't seem her self. I don't know what's going on with her. And she doesn't seem to want to talk about it."  
  
"She will be willing to share all information when she is ready, I'm sure. But until then… You'll just have to wait." Hank walked into the connected room where his office was, and sat down at his desk. There was a moment of silence before Hank said anything more. "If you would like, She can stay here until morning. I have a few open beds. I'm sure she would protest given the option, but…"  
  
"Thanks Bub, I appreciate it." With that Logan left the Med Lab, though he almost wished he could stay there with her, but Hank was right, She didn't want to talk yet, and when she did, he would be there for her.  
  
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(A/N: I love this chapter so much, I don't know what it is, if it's the fact that I got to write what's going on in Remy's head, and the part where he is angry that she can lie to her self (I love that part), or that he got a message across to her, but they were fighting the whole time (I liked that part cause it was more of what there relationship was like in the comics and the older cartoon), that I got to write in Beast, who is also one of my favorite characters from the old cartoon (I got to type like I was smart, and use stuff like ' referring' and 'no doubt' and what not… I didn't have him quote anyone though…)  
  
Or maybe its just the fact that I know all of you failed the pop quiz!!! Because BOTH Gambit and Logan were on the roof with her!!! Trick question!!! Oh… good times… lol  
  
Just so you guys know, it wasn't a poll or anything, I knew I was going to do that in the beginning. I knew I wanted Gambit on the roof to say all that stuff to her, and then I was going to have either Kurt or Logan chase him off. And the more and more I thought about it, it was easier to write in Logan, not easier, it just made more sense.  
  
After I got all the reviews with your votes in them, I thought it would be funny, if I was like "And the answer is…. E, all of the above" and some how worked them all onto the roof. And I guess I could have done it, but I really love how this one went over, because it gave you a look/foreshadowing as to how Logan feels towards Rogue, and how he is like a father figure.  
  
OMG! This is like Clue or something, I should come up with alternate ending and stuff!! LOL I won't don't worry! Just kidding, it would be cute though, but after making you guys wait so long, I won't go fooling around with all that. Though in Theory, it sounds funny, I think it would just be annoying.  
  
Any way… I guess you all failed the pop quiz, cause even if you guessed C or D, it was only partial credit, and then with your ten points extra credit, that brings you to a sixty… Hmmm… that's not going to look good on your report card… Tell you what, If you review, I'll give you thirty extra credit points!!! And I'll give ten more extra credit points if in your review you can think of a title for the chapter, or any other one I don't have labeled. This really IS the best course ever!!! 


	9. Kurt Isn't Hungry!

(A/N: Ok, first off, congratulations to all of you who passed last weeks pop quiz, but I HAVE to give a very special gold star out to *Wizardess Gal* for getting an A+ on a quiz she never even took. That's right, she got one hundred points completely through the extra credit. *wipes a tear from her eye* she makes me so proud!!!  
  
Ok, This chapter is going to be a little short. I'm sorry! I wish I could just jump to the next time I have Rouge and Gambit meet, but I really have to address what the rest of the x-men are thinking about Rouge, and what she is thinking about them, ect ect...  
  
There is some Romy, I mean, she is reflecting on what happened. But don't worry, after this, we get right back in the swing of things, Ooo and big plot stuff coming up in the next two chapters. Like I said a few chapters ago, I got to get from point A to point B, and this chapter is the line that connects them (god that sounds stupid, but you get my point.) Its hard for me to be patient with myself between plot bits, I only hope you guys stay patient with me too ^_^)  
  
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Chapter 9  
  
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Kurt fiddled with his image inducer as he walked down the hallway of the mansion leading away from his dorm room. He idly pulled at the watchband. The image inducer was off, revealing his blue fur. It was Saturday morning, and he was safely inside the mansion, with no threat of an outsider seeing his true form.   
  
Kurt was preoccupied at the moment; he was worried about his sister Rogue. Foster sister or not, Rogue was like a real sister to Kurt.  
  
He had heard through the grape vines, which appear to be all through out the mansion, that Rogue had spent the night in the Med Lab. He had other heard rumors about her being on the roof, which did not surprise him in the least, but he had also heard that she was not alone.  
  
Kurt's eyebrows scrunched together as anger built up inside him at just the idea of Gambit attacking her on the roof. Or what if she had wanted him there? That idea made Kurt even angrier.  
  
'But it's not my place to judge…' thought Kurt as he remembered the argument last night, and the fight between him and Kitty that soon followed. Kitty was mad at him for 'spilling the beans' and spreading rumors about Rogue. Kitty knew she was also responsible, but that didn't help with Kurt's guilt. Looking back, he could see how he had maybe stretched the truth just a little. But then again, he never really got to hear the truth from Rogue in the first place.   
  
Kurt looked down at his feet as he walked into the kitchen. A few other X-Men were making a bit of a commotion. They were sitting down at the table, but Kurt walked over and hopped up onto the countertop in between the pantry and the sink. He swung his feet a little beneath him, with his tail to one side of him. Kurt sighed as he continued to watch his feet.  
  
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"I think Jubilee is winning." Kitty explained as she glanced up from the stopwatch. "You better hurry up Bobby. She has like a full, four spoon lead over you."  
  
"Shut up!" Bobby managed in between bites of cereal.  
  
Bobby and Jubilee were sitting next to each other on one side of the kitchen table, while Kitty sat on the other side. In front of Kitty was a pad of paper, a pen, and the stopwatch in her hand. In front of Jubilee and Bobby, was a mess. They both had a bowl of Captn' Crunch in front of them and were frantically racing each other to see who could finish theirs the fastest. The results were a puddle of milk over the table and scattered bowls and cereal.  
  
"Done!" shouted Jubilee before going into a coughing fit. "I win three to two!"  
  
Bobby spooned a few more bites into his mouth, and then said, while still chewing, "No, we are playing best our of seven, you didn't win yet!"  
  
"Whoa! You said best out of five." Jubilee protested, still trying to catch her breath.  
  
"Yeah," Kitty added, "And that was after she beat you in best out of three."  
  
"Look if you don't think you can take me… Then I'm fine with that." Bobby smirked as he pushed his bowl away from him on the table, and leaned back in his seat.  
  
"Oh no you don't! You're on!" Jubilee shouted as she reached for new bowls.  
  
"Hold on a second," pleaded Kitty, "I got to write down your times… Lets see… Jubilee has the most wins, but Bobby finished a bowl the fastest."  
  
Bobby just smiled and straitened up as he readied himself for another race. He grabbed for the box of Captn' Crunch, but frowned as he shook it upside down and only crumbs fell out. "Oh man, we're out. Got to get another box from the pantry."  
  
Jubilee nodded as she started to get up to get another box of cereal, when she suddenly noticed Kurt Sitting on the counter top. "Hey Kurt, you want to help me take out Bobby in a good old fashioned Saturday morning cereal race?" Jubilee continued to the pantry and opened up the double doors. She gave all the boxes heavy consideration before calling over her shoulder back to bobby, "There's no more Captn' Crunch. Either Trix, Fruit Loops, or… or… Grapenuts."  
  
"Yuck! Grapenuts? What are you thinking?" Bobby asked as he stuck his tongue out at the idea. "I don't care about the other two, surprise me."  
  
"Ok… um…" Jubilee randomly pulled out a box. "Trix it is! So Kurt you in?"  
  
Kurt shook his head. "No thanks, I'm not hungry…"  
  
"What!" shouted the three other teens in the kitchen as the box of Trix hit the floor.  
  
"Wait, Kurt isn't hungry?" Jubilee shook her head in disbelief as Kitty and Bobby stood up and walked over. "Is that even possible?"  
  
"Yeah man, you feeling ok?" Bobby asked as he placed a hand on Kurt's forehead.  
  
"I'm fine." Kurt said a little annoyed as he moved away from Bobby's hand, "I'm just not hungry."  
  
"But YOU don't get 'just not hungry'. Its not normal." Stated Bobby as he picked up the Trix box and put it on the counter near the pantry. "Something has to be wrong."  
  
"Are you upset about Rogue?" Kitty asked in a hushed voice, even though Bobby and Jubilee were easily with in hearing distance. The three teens looked on at Kurt awaiting his answer.  
  
"Of course I am, she is my sister…"  
  
Suddenly all four of them heard a low growl, and turned to see a sweaty Wolverine in the door way. "What the hell happened in here?!" He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. With the towel around his neck, it was apparent he had just finished a Danger Room session. He squirted almost half the bottle into his mouth before returning his intimidating gaze back to the students. "Well?!"  
  
Kitty spoke up first, "Bobby and Jubilee were having cereal bowl races and-"  
  
Jubilee cut her off. "And I was winning too, but-"  
  
"But actually," Bobby added taking a little step foreword in front of Jubilee. "I was about to win, and-"  
  
"And I had NOTHING to do with it." Kurt finished as he put his hands up in his defense.  
  
Wolverine just shook his head, "Look I don't care who did what, and who beat who, all I care about is WHO is going to clean up this mess."  
  
"Well I'll just be going then, see you guys…" Kurt said as he tried to get off the counter and walk calmly out the door.  
  
"Oh no you don't blue boy," Wolverine grabbed onto the collar of Kurt's shirt, "we work as a team, remember, so you are going to stay right here and help out your fellow team mates."  
  
"Oh man… But I didn't even do anything."  
  
"I don't care, now get cleaning." Wolverine started to make his way for the door.  
  
"Hey, why aren't you helping, I mean, you're part of the team too you know." Everyone regretted Bobby's words as soon as he said them.  
  
Wolverine just laughed, "Nice try kid, now get scrubbing." With that Wolverine left the kitchen.  
  
"Bobby do you have a death wish or something?" Jubilee hit Bobby's arm as she went to go grab a broom and a dustpan from the corner of the room.  
  
"Or are you just stupid?" Kitty asked as she hit Bobby in the other arm. Jubilee then handed her the dustpan.  
  
"Hey. Watch it."  
  
"I think your right Kitty," Kurt added as he ripped off a few sheets of paper towel off of the roll, "I think he is just stupid, or… are you feeling ok Bobby?" Kurt mocked as he placed his hand on Bobby's head. The two boys started laughing as Kurt handed him the roll of paper towels.  
  
They all split up into their separate jobs. Kitty and Jubilee cleaned up the floor and put away the dirty dishes, as Kurt and Bobby wiped clean the table.  
  
Jubilee leaned on the counter as she turned to the boys at the table. "So what did you hear happened to Rogue anyway Kurt?"  
  
Kurt paused and then stopped what he was doing to look up at Jubilee. "I don't know, I heard a lot of things…"  
  
"Well I heard that she was up there with her boyfriend Gambit." Bobby fluttered his eyelashes as he said the acolyte's name, and Jubilee started laughing. Kurt gave him a glare and he quickly stopped.  
  
"Well I heard she was up there with him," Interrupted Jubilee, "But they were fighting each other, like he broke onto the property and attacked her."  
  
"Really?" Kitty asked as she turned towards Jubilee, "Cause I heard that Mr. Logan got in a fight with Gambit, and Rogue fell off the roof because of it. And that's why she had to go to Med Lab"  
  
"What?!" demanded Kurt.  
  
"Yeah Kitty, you can't believe that." Bobby added as he shook his head at Kitty.  
  
"Yeah, she didn't fall off the roof, that's stupid." Jubilee added.  
  
"Well I'm just telling you what I heard…"  
  
Kurt leaned against the table as he crossed his arms, "Did any of you even talk to Rogue yet?" Kurt shook his head disapprovingly as he got a unanimous 'no' from everyone. "Then no one here should be talking about it." Kurt dropped his soggy paper towels into the garbage as he left the room on his way down to the Med Lab wing.  
  
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Rogue slowly stretched as she stifled back a yawn. She sat up in bed as she looked around the room for a clock. She couldn't find any, but judging by how bright it was, it was probably somewhere between ten and eleven am. Slowly she remembered where she was. She was in the Med Lab. But she felt fine, why was she in Med Lab. She looked through the glass window separating her from Dr. McCoy's office. He wasn't at his desk.  
  
Then she remembered the night before. How Gambit had surprised her, and how she slid down the roof and had cut her knees and shins. And how she had almost fallen off the roof completely, if Gambit hadn't saved her.  
  
'Saved?' she thought, 'If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have fallen.' But all in all she was grateful that he was there to grab her hand, though she would never admit it to another living soul, especially not Gambit.  
  
Her eyebrows scrunched together a little in contemplation as she recalled everything he had said to her. The words rang through her thoughts and even through her very soul 'Because someone should…' she heard them again in the back of her head.  
  
'He seemed so genuine when he had said it, so authentic…' Rogue filled with anger, and as much as she tried, she couldn't seem to aim any of her rage at the Cajun. She was angry, even furious that he had said something she had wanted to hear coming from Kitty, her 'best friend' or the Professor, or anyone else at the institute. But no, the enemy had said it. The enemy had seen through her mask quicker, and better than any of her so-called friends. Even if she hadn't actually told him her name when he asked, at least he HAD asked. She has been at the institute for so long, and no one had even asked her what her name was, or when her birthday is, or anything personal. She had always told herself they weren't asking because she pushed them away. But she pushed Gambit away even more than she does any of the X-Men, and HE had asked her. Now it became clear that they didn't ask because they didn't care. None of them cared did they?  
  
Just then Rogue noticed a figure walk by the slightly tinted glass window outside her room. Her Rage subsided as best she could as she noticed the doorknob turn slowly. Kurt stuck his head into the half open doorway with pleading eyes, "Can I come in?"  
  
Rogue laughed lightly at how cute he was trying to be and nodded for him to enter. He shut the door behind him as he made his way for the chair near her bed. Rogue sat up to face him.  
  
"How are you feeling Rogue?"  
  
"I'm fine. I was kind of looking for Dr. McCoy to see if I could leave soon."  
  
"What happened? Were you here all night?"  
  
Rogue suddenly flashed back to a few moments ago. When she was yelling internally that no one at the institute cared about her. She shook the feeling away, knowing that Kurt did care for her, even if he doesn't know when to shut his mouth. But the overwhelming feeling that even Kurt, her 'brother' hadn't asked her still remained. "Nothing much. I was up on the roof last night, and I almost slid off, and I cut my shins up a little. Really, its nothing big at all. But Logan made me go to Med Lab."  
  
"Oh…" Kurt paused, not wanting to ask what he had to ask next, "Were you… were you alone on the roof?" Kurt dropped his eyes to the floor, not wanting to anger her more.  
  
Rogue's eyes squinted a little as she stared back at Kurt. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well…" Kurt started to play with the tip of his tail nervously in between his fingers. "A couple of kids were talking and…"  
  
"Oh my god! Everyone is already talking behind my back?! None of them were there, they don't know what happened, and there they go spreading more rumors. But did any of them even ask me what happened? NO!" Rogue was talking more to herself at the moment, when she suddenly remembered that Kurt WAS here asking her what had happened. She smiled inwardly, feeling a little relief that he at least cared to get her side this time. "What were they saying?" she asked in a calm tone that caught Kurt of guard.  
  
"Well they were saying a bunch of things… but all the stories had Gambit in them." Kurt paused, "Was he on the roof with you last night?" He raised his eyes to hers, and his face seemed almost defeated before she could answer.  
  
Rogue looked back at him sympathetically, "He was, but let me explain…"  
  
Kurt smiled lightly allowing her to continue. He wasn't going to jump to conclusions, not this time.  
  
"I had a bad dream, and I went up to the roof to get my head together…" She frowned softly remembering the dream, "And before I knew it, he was right behind me, I didn't ask him to be there or anything."  
  
"Did you to fight him? is that how you almost fell of the roof?"  
  
"No, not exactly. When I saw him, I guess I got startled, and fell backwards." Rogue purposefully with held the complete truth, that she had been so close to him, and that she had actually pushed herself off of him when she slipped.  
  
"Then what happened?"  
  
"Um…" Rogue thought what would be appropriate to tell her very over protective brother. "Well he caught my hand when I fell off the roof and pulled me back up. And then Logan busted onto the roof, and tried to attack Gambit."  
  
'Good' Kurt thought as he smiled to himself. "That's it? Oh man, you are going to be so mad at Bobby …"  
  
"What did he say about me Kurt?"  
  
"Well he was calling Gambit your boyfriend and stuff…"  
  
"What! I'm going to kill him! What was everyone else saying? No wait, it doesn't matter, if they are saying ANYTHING then I'm going to kill them." Rogue started to get out of bed and made her way to the door. After opening the door, she turned and looked at Kurt who was just standing up. "Thanks Kurt…"  
  
"For what? Squealing on Bobby? Any time-"  
  
But she cut him off with a smile, "No, for asking me what happened. I know I'm not the easiest person to talk to, and I… I appreciate that you tried." With that she was out the door and down the hallway. She was still in her pajamas, and decided to stop off in her room to change into normal cloths and a pair of gloves before having a little 'talk' with a certain trio of mutant storytellers…  
  
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(A/N: ok there you go, I really like how this chapter ended up. I think its funny how much I hated Jubilee in the old cartoon, but I like her so much in this one. I mean honestly, she was SO useless in the old X-Men chartoon! What was her super power? Fireworks? All she did was make sparklers! lol no seriously, if you're a huge Jubilee fan, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but she was just the kid in the old cartoon you know? She was the person who ALWAYS got kidnapped and everyone had to go save, or she triggered some alarm and got everyone caught, and all that stuff. But in the X-Men Evolution cartoon, because the whole institute is kids, she gets to actually have a personality, instead of being 'the kid'. And personally, I like the personality they give her. She has got a 'one of the guys' type of persona, and she is always hanging out with Bobby and his guy friends. What do you guys think about Jubilee?  
  
Ok, so I know there was no Gambit 'in' this chapter, but I think I am doing the next chapter from his perspective, kind of, well, you'll see when it happens. As always, If you can think of a good title for this chapter, tell me in a review. I was thinking 'A Good Old Fashioned Saturday Morning Cereal Race' but it seems to long, Oh Well! If you think of somehting better, or if you like that title, tell me ^_^  
  
See you soon! 


	10. Just Shut Up And Drive

(A/N: Just a couple shout outs:  
  
Willowmaven: I was also always amazed when they let Jubilee leave the mansion on a mission. Like they would flip flop between her being 'a kid', and being part of the team, with no real justification for why they suddenly changed their minds. The only episode I liked that was about Jubilee, was that one where those kids were caught in the caves, and it was collapsing or something. So Jubilee told them a 'fairy tale' to keep them calm, and it was all about how she was like Robin Hood, and Wolverine was this ogre-monster who was like her slave. And she like saved Gambits life or something, and it was REALLY cheesy. But you had to laugh at how she was blatantly putting herself in the spotlight. Oh man, now everyone is going to think I'm crazy or something…  
  
Wizardess Gal: You should wear that gold star with pride! Unless you go in public… Then you should just hold it in your hand… but do it with pride!  
  
Wiccamage: Oh man, I love your reviews so much! Like everything you said about all my chapters, especially the earlier ones, was/is going through my head. You made me feel less crazy. P.S. I went back and 'altered' the whole falling to her knees thing, I completely agree with you, I was trying to show how it was getting to her, and I do think that was an exaggeration. I also went back and I think I fixed up all the diner/dinner problems. Thanks again for all your input  
  
MeowzKatz: At least I'm not the only weirdo who sees Wayne and Garth every time I read a flashback XD  
  
Ok, that's enough of that, on with the show…)  
  
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Chapter 10  
  
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Rogue leaned against her locker. She glanced down the hallway to see Jubilee at her open locker, talking to Kitty about something. She was to far away to hear what they were talking sbout, but Rogue knew it was about her. Just by the way Kitty kept nervously glancing over to where Rogue was standing, never making eye contact, but knowing she was there. Jubilee looked in the direction Kitty kept glancing, and saw Rogue. Jubilee's face became an expression that can best be described as nothing. It didn't show anger, or fear, either of which Rogue would have rather been faced with.  
  
Rogue had had an unofficial falling out with almost everyone at the mansion. It was hard for her to explain, even to herself, but she just felt farther away from them than usual. She just kept thinking about how no one had shown any interest in her, unless it was for some gossip. She knew none of them hated her, and that she did mean something to them, but every time her mind was quiet enough for her to think about anything, it went back to the fact that no one had even asked her what her name was.  
  
Rogue gave Jubilee a weak smile. Jubilee returned the gesture and then quickly returned her interest back to her locker. Rogue sighed, 'Its not there fault, I know they care. They were just giving me my distance, a distance they thought I wanted.' Jubilee shut her locker, revealing Bobby leaning against the lockers on the other side of her. He was wearing sunglasses, and Rogue laughed to herself, 'I didn't hit him THAT hard. He can't still have a black eye, can he?' but her smile faded as she remembered the confrontation they had had.  
  
'He didn't deserve that… none of them deserved to be yelled at the way I yelled at them.' She frowned as she looked down at her feet as the three other mutants left walking together. 'Maybe I should apologize or something…' Rogue felt some anger build up, 'Apologize for what? For standing up for myself, they should apologize to me!' The anger subsided, 'But they did apologize. And I told them it wasn't good enough… I'll talk to them later.'  
  
Rogue heard the warning bell ring; it was time to get to fourth period. She rolled her eyes as soon as she realized she had French next. 'Great, just who I needed to talk to…' She had said it in her head with heavy sarcasm, but in reality, she did want to talk to him.  
  
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Rogue drummed her fingers on her desk as she nervously looked up to the clock above the door. 'He's late…' the late bell had rung almost ten minutes ago, and Gambit was nowhere to be seen. Rogue stared at the second hand on the clock. Normally, when she stared at the clock, time went slower, but at this moment, it seemed to speed past her. She frowned inwardly. She had wanted time to slow down. She had wanted more time, more time for him to come into the class. But with each tic of the second hand, she lost more and more hope of seeing him. 'Why do I even care?' Rogue scolded herself, but her eyes remained on the clock. 'I just had a question or two to ask him, I don't want to TALK to him or anything… do I?' Rogue continued to stare up at the clock. It had now been fifteen minutes sense the late bell had rung. 'Maybe, maybe he was being genuine when we talked… Maybe he had meant what he said…' The words rang fresh in her mind 'Because someone should…' Rogue felt her teeth clench together as she thought about that night on the roof. 'He's just an arrogant jerk!' her jaw loosened, 'But he asked…'  
  
"Rogue?" a stern voice broke through Rogue's inner thoughts as she noticed the teacher, along with the class was starring at her. "Rogue will you read the next section?"  
  
"I a…" Rogue grabbed her book from off the floor, and opened it almost randomly. She flipped from page to page. "Um… what page are we on?"  
  
"You would know if you were paying any attention."  
  
"I was just-"  
  
"You didn't even have your book out."  
  
"But I was listening-"  
  
"Then what were we just discussing?" the teacher put her hands on her hips as the whole class seemed to turn to face Rogue. She searched her thoughts for any words or terms she might have over heard the teacher talking about.  
  
"Well…" Rogue started to 'explain' her self, when suddenly everyone turned to the door in the front of the classroom. Gambit had entered the room, and was making his way to his desk.  
  
"Mr. LeBeau just what do you think you are doing this late into class?" The teacher, along with the whole class, pealed their eyes off of Rogue, and plastered them onto the Cajun.  
  
Rogue felt a sudden wave of relief. She was no longer in the spot light. She also felt a little relief from seeing him there. She felt a smile come to her lips, before quickly hid it behind her hands until it soon disappeared.  
  
Gambit shrugged his shoulders as he continued past the teacher's desk towards the far back of the classroom.  
  
"Excuse me, I asked you a question LeBeau! Do you have a note? Or a pass?"  
  
Gambit exhaled while slightly rolling his eyes and then nodded.  
  
"Well what is your excuse?" The teacher had taken her hands off her hips for only a moment using her arms in a large swooping motion to show her frustration. Soon enough, they had returned firmly to her hips as she took a few steps towards Gambit.  
  
Gambit almost rolled his eyes again, but settled for an audible sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking strait at the teacher, "Its personal." He said it calmly, and with his eyes pleaded for her to leave it at that.  
  
The anger in the teacher's eyes softened as she lightly nodded. "Well sit down and try to follow in the lesson. We are on page 142…" she trailed off as she turned to write something onto the board.  
  
Gambit turned around and continued towards his desk. He smirked inwardly at how easily the teacher had dropped it. His smirk became visible on his face as he made eye contact with Rogue.  
  
Rogue felt herself avert her eyes as Gambit passed her desk, but she could still see his smile. 'See he is just messing with your head. Don't read into things Rogue.'   
  
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Gambit sat down in his seat. He stared at the girl in front of him. He smiled to himself. His hands found their way into his pockets, and his smile soon faded as his left hand traced over the plastic cover of his cell phone. 'What could he want with Gambit now?' he thought to himself as he recalled the conversation he had just had minutes ago. 'Another heist maybe?' he shook his head lightly. 'Well there is no point fretting over it. Be seeing him in an hour or so to find out…' Gambit looked up at the clock. 'Have to leave during lunch… probably be gone for the rest of the day…' He shrugged his shoulders.   
  
'Should have just left, shouldn't have even bothered coming to this class at all.' But Gambit knew why he hadn't just left school all together. He knew why he had decided to go to this class before he left. And the reason was sitting two seats in front of him.  
  
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The bell rang and Rogue turned to pick up all her books and papers. 'Finally, lunch.' She thought as she stood up. Gambit was sitting on the windowsill to her left. For some reason she wasn't too surprised by his sudden appearance. His legs swung lightly under him as he looked at her with a slight smirk.  
  
"What do YOU want?" she said the words harshly, not expecting an answer as she started to walk past him. Gambit picked his feet up and put them on the desk in front of him, blocking her path. His smirk became larger as he saw he begin to get angry.  
  
"Just saying hello, chere." He said as he adjusted his feet on the desk, putting one ankle over the other.  
  
"Well there, you said it, now let me go to lunch."  
  
"You don't really want Remy to leave you alone."  
  
"Oh so now your back to calling yourself Remy?"  
  
"Well we are at school chere. But you can call me Gambit, or Remy, or Cajun or any other pet name your little heart desires." He gave her a wink, and she couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"I don't call you pet names." She thought for a second, and with out noticing herself do it, she put her books down on the desk "But I could think of a few good ones…"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
Rogue grinned a little. "Oh I don't know… the word 'Jerk' comes to mind."  
  
Remy laughed. "Oh chere, that hurts…" he covered his heart with both hands. Rogue laughed at him, as she slowly leaned against the windowsill.  
  
There was a moment of silence between the two of them. 'Just ask him now! Just say 'I think we should talk' its not that hard.' Rogue told herself, but couldn't bring herself to say it. 'You want to know what he meant, if he was being genuine. Just ask him now!' Rogue took a deep breath, and was about to say something when Remy cut her off.  
  
"I think we need to talk…" He looked right in front of him when he said it, but saw that she nodded. "But not now."  
  
"Why not? Its lunch, we got time."  
  
"You might chere, but this homme has got places to go. Wait in the court yard after school ok?" he turned to face her. "I'll be back by then." Rogue nodded as he stood up. He took her hand and helped her off of her seat. Remy then picked up her books and handed them to her. "See you then chere." He gave a light mock solute as he turned to leave the room. She blinked, and then he was gone.  
  
Rogue stood there a moment, thankful that the room had been empty. She let out a sigh, clearing her head for the task at hand. Right now, she had to go apologize to a certain black eyed mutant. She shuddered, thinking of the word, 'Not apologize, express regret, I'm going to go express regret to Bobby'   
  
She walked out the door and to her locker. 'This is going to be hard…' she thought as she put in her combo, 'And Bobby isn't going to make it any easier…' after opening her locker, she put her books in and shut it. She started to walk towards the cafeteria.  
  
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Rogue walked up behind Kitty at her lunch table. She was sitting with Kurt, Bobby and Jubilee. Some other kids from the institute were a little farther down the table. Rogue took a deep breath. "Hey…" she said it softly, but Kitty had heard. She turned around to see Rogue, and immediately smiled.  
  
"Oh my god! I'm so glad we are on speaking terms again!" Kitty jumped up from the table to hug Rogue who flinched away from the girl, but soon embraced her back.  
  
"Yeah about that…" Rogue pulled away from Kitty. Kitty's smile faded as she prepared herself to be yelled at. "I'm sorry about Saturday…"  
  
Kitty's smile returned, "Oh its ok Rogue, we totally deserved it."  
  
"What's that I heard?" Bobby turned in his seat to face the two girls standing up behind him. "Did the almighty Rogue just say 'I'm sorry?'" He smiled as he went to lift his sun glasses to see her expression better, but then stopped, remembering what he was hiding.  
  
"Yeah I did, and if you want to rub it in some more I'll give you a matching pair of black eyes." She raised her hand and shook her fist at him. She started to laugh, trying to ease the obvious panic in Bobby, who wasn't sure if she was joking or not. He laughed in return, and soon Jubilee, Kurt and Kitty joined in.  
  
Kitty sat back down, and Rogue sat down next to Kurt. "I'm so glad you guys aren't mad at me…"  
  
"Us mad at you?" Bobby asked with obvious sarcasm, "Who could possibly be mad at you?" He smiled as he gestured to his sunglasses  
  
"Oh shut up! I didn't hit you that hard." Kitty and Jubilee started laughing.  
  
"Yeah," Kurt butted in, "for being a walking ice pack you sure take a long time to heal." Everyone started laughing, and slowly broke up into separate conversations.  
  
Kurt turned to Rogue. "I missed you on the ride to school, who took you?"  
  
Rogue looked up to Kurt. "Oh, I didn't want to really ride down with Kitty while we were still mad at each other. Storm gave me a ride, said it was on her way or something, I was just going to walk otherwise."  
  
"Oh, ok." Kurt responded with genuine understanding. "But you'll get a ride with Scott after school today right? You can see me beat Kitty to the front seat. With out a witness to see me win, there's hardly a point."  
  
"Yeah sure… oh wait…" Rogue looked away from Kurt. She was going to wait for Remy after school.  
  
"What is it?" Kurt looked at her curiously.  
  
"I ah… um…" she stalled trying to think of something. "I ah… I have to see this teacher after school. My French teacher said she wanted to see me at the end of school."  
  
"You get detention or something?" he asked seeming disappointed.  
  
"No."  
  
"Well it can't take that long, I'll make Scott wait for you."  
  
"No! ah… I have to make up a quiz, so it might be a while. Don't have Scott wait up for me."  
  
"You sure?" His eyes seemed to beg her to say 'I'm just kidding, I'll be there.' But she didn't.  
  
"Yeah I'm sure," She smiled reassuringly, "I'll just walk home or something. Or I'll call the institute when I'm done."  
  
"Ok… I guess." Kurt's eyes fell to the table before jumping back to Rogue's, "But if Kitty says she got to the front seat first she will be lying, you'll just have to believe me."  
  
Rogue laughed, "I know you'll beat her," she laughed a little harder. "But don't get to full of your self, the second you get cocky, that's when she'll beat you."  
  
"She can't beat me-"  
  
"Don't say that, you'll jinx it!" both of them started laughing, when the bell cut them off.  
  
"Ok, well, I'll see you back at the mansion."  
  
"Yeah, you'll have to tell me all about your victory."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"What victory?" Kitty asked as she stood up. Rogue just looked at Kurt, and they both started laughing  
  
"Nothing Kitty, I got to go, see you guys later." Rogue waved as she left the cafeteria.  
  
"What were you guys talking about?" Kitty looked to Kurt, who just smiled. "Oh! Well, I'm totally going to beat you today."  
  
"We'll see Kitty, we'll see." Kurt said as he stood up and walked with her out of the cafeteria.  
  
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Rogue leaned against the brick wall of the school in the courtyard. All day she had been planning in her head what she was going to say to him, what needed to be said. She had only been waiting for ten minutes, but it felt like she had been there all day. 'He's making a habit of being late…' she thought as she pushed off of the wall and made her way out of the courtyard. 'What are you doing, go back there, you have to wait for him.' But Rogue kept walking away. 'No I don't, this is ridiculous… I'm not going to wait for him.'  
  
Rogue looked over the parking lot; half of her had expected Kurt to be waving from Scott's front seat. But the other half knew they wouldn't have waited. It looked vacant, with the exception of a few cars scattered in the teacher's parking lot. Rogue sighed, 'You can still go back. Its not to late.' But it was too late; her pride alone would not have let her turn around. She sighed again.  
  
Rogue walked to the sidewalk leading away from the school. 'Just what I wanted to do, walk home again.' It would take her half an hour to get home from here. 'Might as well start.' She followed the sidewalk leading her to the institute.   
  
Rogue had been walking a few minutes when she heard a loud noise behind her. It sounded like a motor; she turned to see a motorcycle coming over the horizon. 'No,' she thought, 'it can't be… Oh my god it is!' She recognized that figure on the bike coming towards her. The trench coat flapping gallantly behind him in the wind gave him away.  
  
Rogue turned to face the other way. She kept walking as she heard the revving getting closer and closer. 'Don't look at him!' she told herself. Then suddenly the noise stopped. Rogue stopped walking for a second, but then continued away from him with out turning around.  
  
"Where you going? You said you would wait for Gambit?" Rogue could see out of the corner of her eye that gambit was sitting on the bike and pushing it along side of her with his legs, like a small kid with a tricycle. She tried hard not to laugh at how goofy he seemed walking the motorcycle on the shoulder of the road.   
  
"I did wait." Rogue continued walking, never turning to look at him.  
  
"How long did you wait? Five minutes? That's not fair-"  
  
"For your information I waited ten minutes for you in the courtyard-" but she was cut off.  
  
"Oh No! Ten Minutes?!" he seemed to shout with sarcasm, "Some body call Ripley's!"  
  
"Oh shut up!" Rogue stopped walking and turned to face him. "It doesn't matter how long! … Where were you anyway?"  
  
"Chere, like Remy told the teacher, its personal."  
  
Rogue paused as she studied his eyes. His image inducer was off. "What? Did Magneto pull you out of school to get him some coffee or something?"  
  
Remy laughed, "Like I would get him coffee…" he said it under his breath. "No chere, it had nothing to do with old bucket head."  
  
Rogue smiled uneasily. She had almost forgot that Gambit worked for Magneto. "Then why did you leave school?"  
  
"It's a long story chere, a story we don't have time for." He slid foreword on the bike a little and patted the space behind him. "Come on, you'll get home quicker."  
  
"I am NOT getting on that thing, at least not with you driving. And what do you mean we don't have time?"  
  
Gambit looked up at her from where he sat on the bike. "Got to go take care of something. But trust me chere, it is very important. Remy wouldn't have made you wait if it wasn't."  
  
Rogue saw that genuine look in his eyes again, a look that made her want to trust him. "I'm still not getting on that bike."  
  
Remy smiled and then laughed, "Remy is a very careful driver."  
  
"With the way you came screaming over that hill over there," she pointed behind them to where he had come over the horizon, "I highly doubt that."  
  
Remy began to smirk, "Well if you're to scared chere…"  
  
"I'm not scared of you!"  
  
"No, its ok Rogue, you don't have to lie to me, Remy won't hold it against you…"  
  
Rogue took a deep breath as if she was about to start yelling at him, but then just exhaled it. "I'm not scared of you, and I'll prove it." Rogue got on the back of the bike, keeping a distance between her and Remy. "Hey where are the seat belts on these things?"  
  
"Right here chere." Gambit reached for her hands and pulled them around him tightly. He laughed as she immediately pulled them back.  
  
"Don't do that!"  
  
"Well you asked where the seat belts were…"  
  
Rogue took another deep breath. She then scooted forward in the seat and put her arms around him loosely. "Just shut up and drive."  
  
"You got to hold on tighter than that…"  
  
"Just shut up and drive!" she shouted as she pulled herself a little closer and held him a little tighter.  
  
Remy laughed over the engine revving. Soon he pulled them onto the main road. "See chere, Remy ain't so bad."  
  
"What did I say about the shutting up?" Suddenly Remy pulled the front half of the bike into the air. Rogue muffled a scream into his back as she began to hold him very tight.  
  
Remy Laughed, feeling her squeeze him, and let the bike down from the wheelie.  
  
"Don't you EVER do that again!" Rogue shouted over the noise of the motor and Remy's laughing.  
  
"You don't trust Remy?" but he didn't hear any answer. He assumed she didn't hear him over the motor. He turned his head a little and said back to her, "You don't trust Remy?"  
  
Rogue had heard him the first time, and was fighting with herself to decide on an answer. Of course she didn't trust him. Or did she? She wouldn't have gotten on the bike if she didn't, and she definitely wouldn't have lied to Kurt about staying late to see him. But he was still Gambit; he still worked for Magneto, "Well not after that I don't"  
  
"Ah! So you DID trust Remy!" Remy pulled the bike into another wheelie and he felt her press against his back.  
  
"Stop that! And that's not what I meant!" she yelled up to him over the roar of the motor. She started to laugh. "I said stop that!"  
  
He heard her laughing, "You trust me…"  
  
"How can you be so sure?"  
  
"You're having fun."  
  
"Doesn't mean I trust you."  
  
Remy set the front of the bike down again. "Yeah it does."  
  
"No it doesn't."  
  
"It does."  
  
"It doesn't"  
  
"Does"  
  
"Doesn't" Rogue couldn't help but laugh at how childish they were both acting.  
  
"You're laughing."  
  
"At you."  
  
"You're still laughing."  
  
"Just shut up and drive." Rogue smiled, shut her eyes, and laid her head against his back.  
  
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Rogue opened her eyes and notice they were getting close to the institute. She frowned as she picked her head up off of Remy's back.  
  
"Were almost there." Remy called over his shoulder.  
  
"I know." She said it with a little sadness in her voice, but Remy didn't hear her say anything.  
  
Remy pulled the bike to a stop about fifty feet away from the front gate. "Sorry chere, ride stops here, you probably shouldn't be seen getting off my bike."  
  
She nodded as she slowly removed her arms and stood up.  
  
"See you tonight."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We still need to talk chere, Remy will see you tonight on your roof, only this time how about you don't fall off?" Remy revved the bike back on, and then pulled out as he turned around and came back past her heading in the other direction. "Oh, and don't bring that Wolverine of yours." With that he raised his hand to her jaw line. He ran his thumb over her cheek. "See you then chere." He let go and drove off.  
  
Rogue stood their a moment longer before turning to head towards the front gates. She held a hand up to her cheek and smiled. Then she laughed as she dropped her hand, 'What makes him think I wouldn't tell the professor that he is coming, and set a trap or something?' then she smiled, 'Because he trusts me…'  
  
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(A/N: Ok, lots of Romy in there for you. See, I wouldn't let yo down! ^_^  
  
Oh, I bet your dieing to know where Gambit went? I mean I COULD give you another multiple choice question, but… I think if I did, it would be too obvious. So I can't. Sorry. I can only give SO much lol  
  
Ok, I'm trying to be subtle about this, and I wonder if you guys even noticed. But incase you didn't, I'm slowly having Gambit say words like "I, Me, My, ect. ect." Because when ever I watched the old cartoon, and read the comics, He talked in the Third person in battle, and when ever he first met someone, or when ever he was showing off… ok let me phrase this differently. After a while, whenever he was with Rogue, and they were alone, he would talk with "I, Me, My ect. ect." All the other times it was in third person. And because they are getting closer, I'm having him talk less and less in the third person. I don't know, what do you guys think about that? Make sense?   
  
Ok, on a more serious note:  
  
I have a problem. I have the next chapter all written, but something about it is bothering me. I think I maybe rushed the plot line a little, I don't know for sure, maybe that, or maybe I just made a stupid plot ^_^  
  
Anyway my point is, I would really appreciate it if one or two of you wanted to help me by kind of beta testing the chapter. I don't want to just put it up, because if I did screw up, I don't want EVERYONE to read it while its all bad. I like the pot I have; I just don't think I presented it to well.  
  
Anyway, if your interested put your e-mail in a review I guess. I have a few people in particular I really hope want to help me out, like Wiccamage. Everything you said in your reviews made a lot of sense to me, and most of what you said was going through my head when I wrote the parts. But regardless, anyone can help.  
  
Ok thanks everyone! 


	11. Alle Frauen lieben ihn

(A/N: Ok, near the beginning of this chapter, Kurt just starts blurting a lot of stuff in German. It will make sense why he is saying random German when you get there. Just so that you can get the full picture, I didn't put the translations next to what he said, because it's more important that he is speaking German, than you understanding what he said. The translations are at the bottom of the page; you can't miss them, just read through the conversation before you go to see what he was saying. Trust me, it will be MUCH funnier that way. )  
  
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Chapter 11  
  
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A breeze softly blew in past her as Rogue shut the front doors to the institute. Rogue walked past the front lobby and up the large staircase. The whole mansion would have seemed unbelievably quiet, but not to Rogue. The thoughts inside her head were loud enough to keep her from noticing the silence that was around her.  
  
On approaching the door to her shared dorm room with Kitty, Rogue paused. She took in a deep breath, and turned her smile inward, erasing any evidence of it on her face. Rogue opened the door and walked inside. She dropped her backpack on her desk and walked over to her bed. Kitty was laying on her stomach on her bed, while Kurt lay on his back, hanging half on and half off of Rogue's bed. They both had assorted school books and notebooks positioned out in front of them. "What are you guys doing?" Rogue asked as she sat down on the bed next to Kurt. Rogue slid off a little so that she was hanging off the bed like Kurt.  
  
Kurt smiled at Rogue, who was now at his upside down eye level. "Studying."  
  
"Yeah, we are like, definitely studying." Kitty added as she flipped a page in the magazine she had hidden inside her textbook.  
  
"Oh really Kitty?" Rogue asked after noticing the magazine, "What are you studying?"  
  
"Kurt is helping me study for my German test tomorrow, right Kurt."  
  
"Ja." Kurt agreed, as he turned a page of the comic book he had inside the book he was holding upside down. "And might I say that Kitty has shown a great improvement."  
  
"Kitty…" Rogue asked. Kitty took her attention off her 'studies' to look at Rogue. "You don't even take German."  
  
"Shh!" She seemed to panic as she looked around the room as if some one might be there. "Mr. Logan doesn't know I'm not in German with Kurt."  
  
"Let me guess." Rogue pulled her self up, and sat normally on top of the bed. "He saw you two not doing anything and suggested a danger room mission might help you pass the time?"  
  
Kitty nodded while Kurt tapped his nose, not taking his eyes off of the comic book. Rogue laughed as she slid back down on the bed as before, rejoining Kurt. "I think I need help with my German test tomorrow…" she turned to Kurt and smirked, "Can you tutor me too?"  
  
Kurt smiled again as he put the book and comic on the ground above him, and brought his hand to his chin, "I don't know Rogue… Kitty does need a lot of help… But I might be able to squeeze you in." They both started laughing as Kurt picked up his textbook and comic. "Oh, by the way, how did that quiz go?"  
  
"What quiz?" Rogue turned and looked at Kurt.  
  
Kurt looked at her confused, "The quiz you stayed after for…"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Rogue suddenly remembered what she had told Kurt at lunch. "Oh! My French quiz! Sorry, I guess all the blood rushing to my head made me forget."  
  
Kurt smiled, buying her second lie today. "Well?"  
  
"I think I passed."  
  
"Good." There was a pause in between the three, until Rogue broke it.  
  
"So who got the front seat?" Rogue looked over to Kurt who had a triumphant smile on his face.  
  
"Oh Shut Up!" Kitty threw a pillow at Kurt who blocked his face with the book in his hands. All three of them started laughing. Suddenly Kurt shot strait up on the bed and looked at the door.  
  
"What is it?" But the only answer to Kitty's question was a finger at Kurt's mouth signaling for silence. "Is some one coming?" Kurt nodded.  
  
BAMF!  
  
Kurt was standing next to Kitty's bed and quickly grabbed her magazine and stuffed it under the bed. He grabbed his German book and placed it open in front of Kitty. Kurt then cleared his throat before announcing loudly, "Geben Sie bitte mir die Tageszeitung," He continued talking loudly towards the door, "damit ich die Komiker lesen kann."  
  
All three of them listened as they heard heavy footsteps outside the door. "Keep going…" Kitty urged him quietly.  
  
Kurt nodded, and then searched his mind for something else to say. He soon looked at Kitty and smiled menacingly as he continued, "Kitty ist langsam, Sie wird den vorderen Sitz nie gewinnen." Kurt grinned, he seemed amused at what he was saying and continued. "Kurt ist anziehend, alle Frauen lieben ihn" Both Kitty and Rogue stared at Kurt. Neither of them had any clue what he was saying. Judging by his own reaction to his words, the two girls were getting a little worried. They gave a knowing glance to each other that seemed to say 'What the hell is he talking about?' But before either of them could even ask Kurt, the door began to open.  
  
Rogue quickly grabbed the textbook Kurt had dropped before he teleported, and pretended to be intently reading it as Wolverine stuck his head into the room. He gave a low grunt, as if disappointed to see everyone studying. Wolverine had half expected them to be reading magazines, and goofing off to avoid his danger room offer. "How's the studying going?" he asked as he made his way into the room.  
  
"Oh just fine Mr. Logan," Kitty lied, hiding her anxiety, "With Kurt here to help me, I'm sure I'll do fine on my test." Kurt just smiled as he pretended to point to something in the textbook. Kitty nodded, and then wrote jibberish down on a notebook.  
  
"What are you doing here stripes?" Wolverine asked motioning to Rogue on the bed. "I know you're not in German…"  
  
"Oh me? No I'm not studying German, but I thought I would take advantage of the studying atmosphere in here." She picked the book up in her hands a little higher to illustrate her point, when suddenly Kurt's comic book slid out. Rogue's jaw dropped as she looked at the comic that now lay in her lap. She looked up to Wolverine to see him smiling.  
  
"Well maybe you would like to take a break from all your 'studying' to come do a mission in the danger room." Wolverine said, going heavy on the sarcasm.  
  
"Oh, no, that's ok. I'll just stay here and…" Rogue looked around her for something else to do.  
  
"It wasn't a request stripes, now be down there in five." With that Wolverine left them, and shut the door behind him. The three were quiet for a moment until they were sure he had left. Then Kurt and Kitty looked at each other, then to Rogue, and then started laughing uncontrollably.  
  
Kurt had actually fallen onto the ground and was holding his stomach tightly. "I can't believe that happened!" he got out in between fits of laughter.  
  
"Yeah," Kitty interjected, "the look on your face was priceless!"  
  
Rogue crossed her arms as she stood. "Stop it, it wasn't that funny…"  
  
Kurt stopped laughing, and sat up on the floor. "No Kitty, Rogue is right, it wasn't funny… It was hilarious!" The two started back into their fits of laughter. They continued to laugh, even when bombarded by pillows. Soon all three were laughing as they had all grabbed pillows, and were hitting each other senseless with them.  
  
"Ahem…" the three stopped and looked to the door again, Logan stood in the door frame with an all-knowing smile on his face. "Well if you two are done studying, I'll be expecting all three of you."  
  
Kitty's jaw opened and closed, before she could think of anything to say, "but we aren't done, we were just a… a…"  
  
"We were just taking a break." Kurt offered.  
  
"Well you can take that brake down in the danger room... Now!"  
  
The three teens looked defeated as they dropped the pillows and followed Logan out the door.  
  
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(A/N: ok, I'll let you know what Kurt said now, before you forget about the whole scene, the first thing he said was "Pass me the newspaper so that I may read the comics" then later, he smirked at Kitty and said "Kitty is slow, she will never win the front seat." Then he smiled proudly as he said, "Kurt is very attractive, and all the ladies love him" I loved that part so much ^_^)  
  
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Rogue flopped onto her bed in exasperation. "That was intense." The danger room mission ended a little over an hour ago. Kitty and Rogue had both already taken their showers, and had changed out of their uniforms and into clean clothes.  
  
Kitty nodded, and gave an audible sigh. "I'm so tired, and it's only like, eight…"  
  
Rogue laughed lightly as she sat back up on the bed. "Lets go do something, if we stay here, we'll fall asleep."  
  
Kitty nodded as she sat up. "Where to?"  
  
"I'm hungry… did you eat yet?"  
  
"No, lets go grab something from the kitchen."  
  
Rogue nodded and stood up. Kitty reached to get herself up, struggled, and then gave up. "Uh… Can you bring me back something, I'm going to stay here."  
  
Rogue laughed, "Yeah sure, but you owe me next time." Kitty nodded, and Rogue left the room.  
  
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There was no one in the kitchen when Rogue walked in. Rogue opened the refrigerator and inspected it carefully. "Dinner's leftovers look like… like…I'm going to say chili." Rogue shuddered at the look of the stuff "If I can't tell what it is, I think I'll pass…"  
  
'I don't see anything…' Rogue moved a few bottles, and containers, "Jackpot, pizza!"  
  
Rogue pulled the cardboard box out and opened it, revealing four plain slices left. "I guess beggars can't be choosers…" Rogue put two of the slices on a plate and popped them into the microwave.  
  
BAMF!  
  
As if on cue, Kurt teleported into the kitchen right in front of the refrigerator. He opened the door, and began to inspect the inside. "Oh man, there's nothing to eat…"  
  
Rogue gave a soft laugh, and Kurt turned towards her. "I found some pizza, there's two slices left."  
  
Kurt's eyes lit up as he spied the familiar cardboard box on the counter. "Thanks."  
  
Rogue opened the microwave, and put the other two slices onto the place already in it, and then hit the start button. The microwave lit up, as a dull hum echoed through out the kitchen.  
  
"I feel bad that you and Kitty got caught," Rogue said, breaking the silence, "I mean you guys thought everything out… and you put on a real good show."  
  
"I know… I was so surprised he bought it."  
  
"Well if it wasn't for you hearing him coming, he would have caught you two a lot sooner."  
  
"Probably."  
  
"I think maybe Logan forgets sometimes that he isn't the only one with heightened senses."  
  
Kurt smiled, but it soon vanished. "Speaking of that…" Kurt looked Rogue in the eyes, but then soon brought his gaze to the floor. "I know you lied to me…"  
  
Rogue was dumbfounded, and couldn't think of the words to defend herself.   
  
"I know you didn't stay after school for any quiz…" he continued to look at his feet, "I… I can smell him on you."  
  
"Oh…" The microwave beeped, signaling that it was done, but neither of them moved foreword to open it. Rogue sighed heavily. "Let me explain."  
  
"There is nothing to explain Rogue…" he said it solemnly, which surprised Rogue, she had expected him to be more defensive. "I can't tell you what to do with your life. And you shouldn't have to explain yourself, not to me." There was a silence between them. "I don't like it, don't get me wrong… but I'm not going to lecture you…"  
  
"I appreciate that."  
  
"That makes one of us…" Kurt let out a burdened sigh, "Can I ask you something?"   
  
Rogue nodded. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Why am I doing what? Talking to the guy?!" Her tone began to drip with disdain. "I'm sorry! I didn't know I need your approval to have a conversation!  
  
No." He tried to cut her off so she would attract any unwanted attention from the others. "A conversation is one thing Rogue, but sneaking around and lying to your friends..." Rogue became quiet as she leaned against the counter. Kurt sighed again before continuing. "I don't see why you're doing this to yourself. He's an Acolyte Rogue. He's just going to hurt you, mentally and physically."  
  
  
  
" You don't know him, Kurt. He isn't like that. Remy wouldn't hurt me."  
  
"But Gambit would. What about the next time the X-Men fight Magneto?" Kurt raised his eyes to meet Rogue's. "Do you really think he's just going to stand by and not fight us? Not fight you?"  
  
Rogue was filled with rage as Kurt voiced all of her own doubts. " You will never understand what it's like for me! Just to get through one lousy day..." She trailed off, losing herself in thought before remembering her rant. She pointed her finger at him. "So don't you dare chastise me for something when you don't have the slightest clue what's going on!"  
  
"But Rogue-"  
  
"No buts! I don't need to explain myself to you, or to anybody here!" With that Rogue stormed out of the room, leaving the pizza in the microwave.  
  
"Rogue…" Kurt took a few steps towards her, but then stopped. His right arm, which had been reaching for her, dropped slowly as he became alone in the kitchen. "Well that didn't go to well…" Kurt sighed as he put the pizza slices pack into the refrigerator. He had lost his appetite again.  
  
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Rogue almost slammed the door to her room behind her before noticing a moving blob of sheets on Kitty's bed. The immediate anger escaped from her body, as she felt understanding for her sleeping roommate. 'Good thing you fell asleep Kitty, Cause you weren't about to get any pizza…' Rogue sat down on her bed and noticed the clock glowed brightly, announcing that it was almost nine. 'I wonder when he is going to show up…'  
  
Rogue walked over to the window and opened it. She stepped out onto the balcony and looked over to the street. 'Last time he came, was almost two in the morning…' Rogue turned and leaned against the banister, looking into the room. 'I think he will show up before that… but not anytime soon for sure. All the lights are on, and everyone is still awake.' Rogue walked back into the room, and turned to shut the windows. 'But just incase…' she decided to leave the windows open. It was a relatively warm day, and the breeze felt nice.  
  
Without looking at the magazines Kitty had assorted on her desk, Rogue selected one and sat down in a chair that was on the window side of the room. She idly flipped through the pages, knowing she would find nothing of real interest. Rogue glanced up periodically from the magazine to the clock, and sighed angrily as she did so. 'God, could time go any slower?'  
  
Rogue's eyelids started becoming very heavy. She tried rubbing the sleep out of them but that only made her yawn. 'Maybe I could just take a little nap… Just for an hour or so…' Soon Rogue began to blink heavily. With each blink, her eyes stayed closed longer, until soon, they didn't open. Rogue drifted into a peaceful slumber.  
  
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Gambit brought the motorcycle to a halt outside of the institute's property. He hid the bike in some bushes near the wall surrounding the mansion. Sitting sideways on the bike, the Cajun collected his thoughts for a moment 'You sure about this homme?' he asked himself as he felt the object in one of his trench coat pockets. 'Maybe you reading her wrong, maybe you rushing things, no?' Gambit shook his head as he stood up. 'No, she deserves this, even if Gambit don't.'  
  
Soon Gambit found himself sitting atop the brick wall, looking over to the mansion. He smiled as he remembered the lay out of security systems he had studied weeks ago. Every security system had a weakness. He watched patiently, spotting the numerous rotating motion sensors. Sure, almost all of them overlapped, but at every moment, one motion sensor had a blind spot, and after monitoring their patterns of rotation and speed, it would be easy to stay invisible to them.  
  
With great speed, Gambit leapt down off the wall, and pressed his back against a tree. '1… 2… 3…' He ran now, low to the ground until reaching the next sensor. He turned with it, staying to it's back, then sprinted off to the next. Soon, he found his back to the wall of the institute.  
  
'Walk in the park.' He scaled the wall until he found a corner. Pressing his back against it, he was able to push himself up to the second floor. Gambit soon stood on a ledge, a balcony to his right. He climbed onto it, and looked into the window. 'Non, not her room.' Gambit pulled himself up another floor. Checking one window, and then another. After four tries, Gambit found what he was looking for.  
  
Gambit slowly opened the windows, which were not locked, and crept himself inside. He smiled as he saw Rogue asleep in a chair. "Beauté dormant" [sleeping beauty] Gambit said to himself, softly, after noticing Rogue's roommate.  
  
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Rogue sighed inwardly as she slowly woke up, but the comfortable feeling the dream had given her had not passed. Her eyes stayed shut, as she relished in the warmth the dream had left her.  
  
"Chere?" Gambit whispered as he ran a hand through her hair.  
  
Rogue smiled and turned a little in the chair. Maybe the dream wasn't over yet.  
  
"Chere?"  
  
But it was over. Then what was this? Who was this?  
  
Rogue opened her eyes and saw Gambit sitting on the arm of the chair she had fallen asleep in. He smirked down at her, as a look of shock crossed her face. She opened her mouth, about to yell at him, when his hand went over her mouth. He hushed her as he gestured over his shoulder to the mass of sheets on Kitty's bed. She nodded, and he removed his hand. Gambit took her hand, and helped her up out of the chair. He pulled her gently to the window's balcony. "You ready chere?"  
  
"For what?" she whispered.  
  
"We going to the roof."  
  
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Rogue nodded, and Gambit cupped his hands and offered them to her. "Come on." Rogue put her right foot in his hands, and pushed off of him to get onto the lower edge. Rogue pulled herself up, and brushed off before turning to offer her hand to Gambit to pull him up. Gambit laughed at the gesture. He jumped off the balcony, and into a nearby tree branch, from that branch to another, and from that branch to the roof. He smiled as he landed and straitened himself up.  
  
"I could have done that…" Rogue said as she crossed her arms.  
  
Gambit laughed, and shook his head lightly. "Of course you could have."  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes as she walked higher onto the roof. Gambit followed her until they made it to a relatively flat area. Remy sat down first, and Rogue followed suit, situating herself about a foot away from the Cajun.  
  
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(A/N: O man, that took so long to put up… sorry, and I'm sure your even MORE mad that its kind of a cliff hanger again… O well, I guess you'll just have to cope. I'm kind of at a spot where I am stuck about half way through what will now be the 'next chapter', and I just realized that you guys have been new chapter less for so long… and I felt bad, so I figured I would cut the chapter into 2 parts, and give you SOMETHING to look at for a day or so. So the next chapter is their conversation… well you'll see  
  
Ooo! More unanswered questions! What was Gambit doing all day? Who called him? Why? And now, what was in his pocket? The world may never know… just kidding, you'll find out next chapter. Or will you?!?!… You will. lol  
  
I hope everyone found the whole Kurt/Kitty/German thing funny. I thought it was cute. Because if I spoke a different language then everyone else, I would do stuff like that all the time.  
  
willowmaven: cheesy does = deep to a seven-year-old. I always like the little things I never caught/understood when I watched the show as a kid, but when I re-watch an episode I notice them. Little things like… like… idk… Oh ok, I got one. Like in the episode where Bishop comes back from the future, and he thinks Gambit is a traitor, and is going to assassinate someone in Washington. In that one, when ever Bishop calls Gambit an 'Assassin' he gets REALLY mad and offended, and I didn't even know about the thieves and assassin guilds when I first watched it, and never made the connection. But little things like that…  
  
Chaotic Boredom: Oh yeah! Now at least one person won't think I'm crazy!  
  
ishandahalf: sorry… guess you'll have to wait some more for their little roof talk…  
  
Wizardess Gal: yeah well I bet your parents won't be so proud of you when I call them up and tell them about how you tried to sell me pot!!! Lol, yeah, I did revoke you gold star privileges, so now, you have to hand out the milk cartons before snack time, maybe after a week of that, you could earn some more gold stars… lol  
  
The Untouchable Rogue: I did what you said, and it got me through some ruff patches. Now I'm at this point, where I know what has to be said, its just the point of them actually saying it, and not making it sound forced or anything.  
  
Weeble Wobble Chic: I loved that scene too! Just the little things, like the whole seat belt thing, and the 'shut up and drive'… I'm not trying to be full of myself, I', just really proud of that part, and I'm glad you liked it.  
  
Ev1ta: even though this review is from chapter 9, not 10, I must give you credit. Credit for using 0's in w00t, even when you made it all capitalized. To many people would have put WOOT. But no, not you, and that's why you get a gold star!  
  
ok, that's it for now… cya in a few days! (FEW! I said a few days! That means "not a lot") 


	12. Chapter 11 part 2

(A/N: Ok, like I said at the end of the last chapter, this chapter, and chapter 11 were going to be one chapter, but I felt so bad making you guys wait so long, I broke it in half so that you would have something to look at. So I took the last bit of last chapter to start this one, because in actuality, they were going to be one chapter, this will help me with the writing, you know, the 'flow' of it all… ect ect… I just wanted to tell you that, so you didn't go crazy re reading stuff. See how much I care ^_^  
  
You guys might even want to go back and read the last chapter, not just to remember what happened, but because this is more of a continuation of last chapter, instead of one by itself   
  
Ok, just so EVERYONE knows, this chapter is dedicated to *ishandahalf* for waiting so patiently for the 'roof talk'.)  
  
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Chapter 12  
  
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Rogue sighed inwardly as she slowly woke up, but the comfortable feeling the dream had given her had not passed. Her eyes stayed shut, as she relished in the warmth the dream had left her.  
  
"Chere?" Gambit whispered as he ran a hand through her hair.  
  
Rogue smiled and turned a little in the chair. Maybe the dream wasn't over yet.  
  
"Chere?"  
  
But it was over. Then what was this? Who was this?  
  
Rogue opened her eyes and saw Gambit sitting on the arm of the chair she had fallen asleep in. He smirked down at her, as a look of shock crossed her face. She opened her mouth, about to yell at him, when his hand went over her mouth. He hushed her as he gestured over his shoulder to the mass of sheets on Kitty's bed. She nodded, and he removed his hand. Gambit took her hand, and helped her up out of the chair. He pulled her gently to the window's balcony. "You ready chere?"  
  
"For what?" she whispered.  
  
"We going to the roof."  
  
Rogue nodded, and Gambit cupped his hands and offered them to her. "Come on." Rogue put her right foot in his hands, and pushed off of him to get onto the lower edge. Rogue pulled herself up, and brushed off before turning to offer her hand to Gambit to pull him up. Gambit laughed at the gesture. He jumped off the balcony, and into a nearby tree branch, from that branch to another, and from that branch to the roof. He smiled as he landed and straitened himself up.  
  
"I could have done that…" Rogue said as she crossed her arms.  
  
Gambit laughed, and shook his head lightly. "Of course you could have."  
  
Rogue rolled her eyes as she walked higher onto the roof. Gambit followed her until they made it to a relatively flat area. Remy sat down first. Rogue followed suit, after only a slight hesitation, situating herself about a foot away from the Cajun. An uncomfortable silence fell between them.  
  
Rogue felt her gaze fall to the roof, as she slid her knees to her chest. "So…"  
  
"So…" he said uneasily as he looked up to the stairs. "Something on your mind chere?"  
  
"I guess,"Rogue thought for a moment, unable to remember her exact words. She had decided earlier what she was going to say to him, but now the words were gone. "You remember Friday night, when we were on the roof? Well… you said… you said some things… and I just…"  
  
"What do you want to know Rogue?" he asked solemnly, as if knowing what would come next. As if knowing he would have to explain.  
  
"I just… Why do you care about me?" Rogue's voice rose with anger. "Why are you trying to get to know me? Don't you know what my mutant power is?"  
  
"I know what you can do."  
  
"I don't think you understand!"  
  
"I understand more than you know."  
  
"I already told you, if you can touch someone, then you can never understand."  
  
"Just because Gambit can touch people now, doesn't mean he was always so lucky." Gambit said as he leaned back onto the roof and laid his hands behind his head.  
  
Rogue stared out in front of her a moment, before turning to face him. "But…"  
  
"But what chere? You think you the only person with troubles?" Gambit gave a light laugh. "You think you the only person who hurt people in the past? People you didn't mean to?"  
  
"No, I just," Rogue shook her head before continuing. "Your powers are nothing like mine, how could you not touch people?"  
  
"Not just touch chere… couldn't be near them." Gambit sat up and then looked at Rogue with sympathetic eyes, before bringing his eyes back to the sky. "Didn't even have what you got now."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Little over a year ago, my powers to charge things… went crazy. I couldn't control my self, and some people got hurt…" Gambit dropped his gaze back to hers, as she contemplated his words.  
  
"Oh… But," Rogue seemed unsatisfied with his explanation. "What happened? I mean, how can you touch people now?" Her face suddenly became annoyed. "Don't give me some story about 'practice, and learning control', cause I'm sick of hearing that from everyone here."  
  
"No chere, Gambit took the easy way out." He shrugged his shoulders as if cringing at the thought. "And he regrets it every day…"  
  
Rogue noticed his reaction, and waited a moment before asking him anything else. "What did you do? What happened?"  
  
"A man… 'helped' Gambit. He gave Gambit… surgery…"  
  
"What kind of surgery?"  
  
Gambit took a deep breath before continuing, "A type of…brain surgery…"  
  
"And then you could control your powers?"  
  
"Kind of… I guess." He looked down towards the roof, as if lost in thought.  
  
There was a long pause before anymore was said. Rogue studied his face. 'If it worked for him…' "Maybe…"  
  
"No!" Gambit snapped out of his self-loathing to stop her mid sentence. "Don't even think about that chere. You don't want to get involved with him."  
  
"But if it worked for you-"  
  
"No!"  
  
"But you just said-"  
  
"Said you don't want to get involved with him, with what he does." He shook his head. "No, I won't let you."  
  
"You won't let me? Excuse me? When did you get any say in what happens in my life?"  
  
"When you think about doing something stupid like this, that's when Gambit gets a say." He said it forcefully, yet not loud, and Rogue seemed to calm down.  
  
"But I thought this guy helped you?"  
  
"Maybe at the time, I thought so too, but trust me chere, it's a bad idea."  
  
"Why? What happened?"  
  
Gambit gave a light laugh as he shook his head a little. "You asking a lot of questions chere. A lot of question for someone who don't like to answer any."  
  
The urgency erased from Rogue's face as she slouched a little. She felt ashamed. "I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"  
  
"It's ok Rogue, but if you gonna ask Gambit anymore questions, you gotta answer some yourself."  
  
"Oh… well, I'll answer your questions, but only if they aren't about my name, or where I'm from."  
  
"Fair enough," Gambit smirked as he thought of a good question. "So?"  
  
"So what?"  
  
"Was Remy any good?" He smirked wildly as he raised an eyebrow at her anger and confusion. "In that dream you had about moi."  
  
Rogue laughed as she remembered the first dream she had had about Gambit. The blush eased out of her cheeks. "Oh THAT dream? Nothing happened in that dream, you were just kind of… there…"  
  
"Wait, what do you mean 'in THAT dream'? Gambit was in more than one?"  
  
Rogue became speechless as her jaw dropped. This reaction only caused Gambit to smile more. "No, that's not what I meant."  
  
"You mean that's not what you meant me to hear." He said bluntly as he continued to smirk.  
  
"Yes… but… just shut up!" she said forcefully as she crossed her arms and tried desperately to stop blushing. "I don't want to talk about it…"  
  
"But rules are rules chere…" He said as he leaned a little closer to her, making her make eye contact.  
  
The embarrassment escaped her face as her lips curled into a smile. "I'm sorry, I never got any rule book," The words seemed to flow out of her mouth as she recalled their first conversation. "Besides rules were made to be broken."  
  
Gambit smiled as he remembered who had said those words first. "So I've heard." Gambit leaned back on his hands as he looked back to the stars.  
  
Rogue took a deep breath. "What happened after you got the surgery?"  
  
Gambit's smile faded. He paused a moment, fighting whether or not to explain. "Gambit was in Essex's Debt."  
  
"Essex? Is that the guy who…"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh…" a moment of silence fell between them before Rogue continued. "I kind of thought it was Magneto or something." She said nonchalantly, mostly to herself.  
  
"What made you think that?"  
  
"I don't know." Rogue laid back, onto the roof, as she searched her mind for the words. "You don't seem to really… follow Magneto's rules, I mean, why would you be hanging around me if you did. And you don't seem to respect the man too much, calling him 'bucket head' and all." She laughed lightly as she remembered the events earlier that day. "I thought maybe in exchange for the surgery, you had to work for him…"  
  
Gambit gave a soft laugh. "No chere, you way off."  
  
"Then why do you work for Magneto?"  
  
"I don't."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't work for Magneto." He paused as he took in, and let out a slow breath "I work for Essex."  
  
Rogue didn't understand at first, but soon all the pieces came together. "Essex has you working for Magneto…" Gambit nodded. "Why?"  
  
"Don't know for sure. Was told to keep an eye on Magneto, figured this be the best way."  
  
"When will you be out of his debt?"  
  
"Couple days." But Gambit knew better than that. He knew no matter what, Essex would always have a hold of him. No matter how many times Gambit was told he was free, Essex would have another job for him. Essex would always have a grip on Gambit, and there was nothing he could do about it.  
  
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(A/N: do da la do-do da la do (another Wayne's World flashback moment))  
  
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The pale man walked down the long dark corridor leading to his lab. Upon entry, a swift silence fell over everyone inside the room. He stood in the shadows, while a small man with thick glasses and a lab coat brought him a folder filled with papers. "Here are the latest results Dr. Essex."  
  
Sinister looked over the papers inside the manila folder. His eyes flashed slightly as he handed the folder back to the small man. "Fine work." The other scientist in the room took this as their cue to leave and they filed their way out the door. As the small man with glasses turned to leave, a heavy hand fell onto his shoulder, and a chill went down his spine. "He will be here in an hour, have all arrangements been made?" the words seemed to slither coldly out of his mouth.  
  
The small man took in an unsteady breath, before nodding and walking over to a long metal counter on one side of the room. He picked up a small box off of the counter. "Yes sir, we finished it this morning."  
  
"Good." The pale man's eyes glowed as his smile revealed a row of sharp jagged teeth. "Gambit should know better than to try and sneak behind my back." Sinister picked up the box out of the man's hand. "He is a fool! Did he think I wouldn't find out?"  
  
"I don't understand sir, with all the technology we have, we could easily make-"  
  
"Silence! Your place is not to question my decision! Nor is it even possible for you to understand."  
  
The small man said nothing, but it spoke volumes. He seemed to plead through the silence for his own life. Sinister dismissed the man with a wave of the arm. "When Mr. LeBeau arrives, show him to my office."  
  
"Yes sir." The small man with glasses tried to walk calmly to the door, and couldn't help but give a sigh of relief when he was out and in the hallway.  
  
"Fools." Sinister continued, "Gambit must be taught a lesson. I could easily kill him, but that is not necessary. No, better to crush his spirits and keep him alive. And it is best to crush his spirits, by crushing her hopes." Sinister's laughter echoed through the lab, and filled its hollow metal shell.  
  
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(A/N: do da la do-do da la do (I miss old school SNL))  
  
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"How late is it?" Rogue asked as she stretched her arms above her head. She yawned as she brought them back down to her sides.  
  
"You getting tired Chere?"  
  
"Not tired," Rogue turned to face Gambit, and their eyes met. She smiled softly, and he returned the gesture. "Just sore." Rogue broke the eye contact as she stretched a little to one side. A sharp pain hit her in her left side. She slowly rubbed the offending rib.  
  
"You hurt?" Gambit raised his hand to her side, but she flinched away. Gambit frowned as he pulled his hand away. "Just trying to help…"  
  
"I know… I just… I'm not used to anyone getting close enough to touch me."  
  
Gambit nodded, seemingly accepting her answer. "What happened?" he gestured to her side.  
  
"I guess I got hurt in the training mission I did today."  
  
"Let Gambit take a look." Gambit reached his arm foreword again. He paused a few inches away from her side, and looked up to her eyes. "I won't hurt you chere." He whispered softly.  
  
"That's not what I'm worried about."  
  
"I'm wearing gloves…" Rogue nodded hesitantly as she looked down from his eyes to his hand. Slowly, Gambit gently placed his hand on her side. He held it there a moment before he pulled the bottom hem of her shirt up a little so that he could see the area of her skin right below the ribs. There was a prominent bruise. Gambit ran his thumb gingerly over the purple-ish area of skin. Rogue bit her bottom lip and inhaled swiftly at the feel of his touch. "Sorry chere, did that hurt?"  
  
"No… Its ok"  
  
"You'll be fine, it's not that bad." Gambit pulled his hand back to his side slowly.  
  
"I know, I just…"  
  
"You just don't want me to touch you, right chere?" Gambit tried to hide the pain in his voice, and for a moment, wasn't sure if he had.  
  
Rogue looked down to her hands, despising the gloves that covered them more than ever. "No not you… just anyone in general. I don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone."  
  
"Do you really like to be alone like this Rogue?" Gambit asked as he moved foreword on the roof towards her. "Being alone, all the time?"  
  
"Doesn't matter if I like it or not…" Rogue felt the heat of anger rise in her throat as she took a deep breath.  
  
"Chere…?" Gambit asked hesitantly after noticing her sudden change in mood.  
  
"It ain't fair Remy, It just ain't fair."  
  
"What isn't fair?"  
  
"Being a mutant, being an X-Man, just life in general. It ain't fair. I get hurt slugging it out against some equally pathetic mutant for a place in a world that doesn't want any of us. A world in which I don't have a chance of finding happiness." Rogue felt tears form behind her eyes, but willed them not to flow down her face. "Fine. Life as an X-Man. I can deal with that. It's the personal side of my life where everything falls apart." Rogue turned to face Gambit, but dropped her eyes to the roof. "All I ask, all I need, is somebody to hold me. Stroke his fingers through my hair. Promise me that everything's gonna be fine. That all the cuts and bruises are worth it in the end." She looked up from the ground and into his red eyes for a moment, before rage found its way into hers. She clenched her hands into fists as she turned to look away from him. "But that's never gonna happen."  
  
Gambit gave an audible sigh as he reached his hand into his pocket. "Wouldn't bet on that chere…"  
  
"What?" Rogue turned slowly towards him after wiping away what tears had escaped her eyes.  
  
Gambit hesitated a moment, but soon pulled his hand out of his pocket and reached it out to her. "Here…"  
  
Rogue looked down to his hand, it appeared to be a watch, much like Kurt's image inducer. "I don't understand…"  
  
Gambit smiled softly, trying to hide the pain from his face. "It's a gift."  
  
"What is it?" Rogue asked as she slowly picked it up out of his hand. After closer inspection, it still looked like nothing more than a wristwatch.  
  
"Don't know how it works… but when you put it on… it'll negate your powers… Rogue, you'll be able to touch …" Gambit saw the immediate mix of confusion and joy in her eyes.  
  
"But, how did you…"  
  
"Does it really matter chere?"  
  
Rogue looked at him, and the joy in her eyes was gone as she pushed the watch back to him. "Did That Essex make this?"  
  
Gambit looked somewhat defeated as he slowly nodded.  
  
"Then I can't take this, it will put you back in his debt. Wouldn't it?"  
  
"But Rogue-"  
  
"No buts, I won't help you dig your own grave."  
  
"But isn't this what you wanted?"  
  
"Not like this I don't" Gambit reached out and put his hand over hers. She tried to pull away, but he held tight. "Please Remy, Don't make this harder…" His eyes peered into hers, and she felt a wave of weakness flow through her.  
  
"Please chere…"  
  
"I can't keep this Remy. You have to bring it back to that Essex guy." Rogue tried with all her might to fight against him, against herself. "But maybe we could… just… try it out…?"  
  
Gambit gave a smile of relief. "Of course, we could just, try it out. Essex doesn't have to find out." Gambit pushed her hands back to her, with the watch inside them. "Go on chere…"  
  
Rogue nodded shyly as she looked down to the watch in her hands. Slowly, she undid the band and wrapped it around her wrist. She fastened the band, and kept her eyes on the watch. "I don't feel any different…"  
  
"There is one way to find out." Gambit said as he placed his gloved hand against her face. Slowly, he pulled her closer to him, as he leaned in himself.  
  
"I don't know Remy-"  
  
"Shh…" he whispered as he closed the space between their lips. Rogue flinched at first, but when the draining feeling that she expected wasn't there, she leaned into the kiss.  
  
Gambit ran a hand through her hair, and smiled inwardly. 'Essex doesn't have to find out, I can just bring it back to him and say she didn't accept it.' Gambit leaned back onto the roof, as Rogue lay on top of him.   
  
Suddenly, Gambit felt a strange pulling sensation from the back of his head. His eyes shot open as he tried to push Rogue off of him, but his strength was gone. He struggled, but to no avail. 'What the hell? The watch isn't working?' suddenly Gambit could hear laughter in his mind, a very distinctive laughter, it was Essex, it was Sinister. 'A trap?' he thought as he tried with his last strength to push Rogue off of him.  
  
'This is amazing! I'm actually touching someone! Scratch that, I'm actually KISSING someone!' the words seemed to ring through out Rogue's mind. 'What the hell is he doing?' she thought as she felt him squirm a little underneath her. 'Maybe that's how they kiss down in New Orleans…'  
  
Suddenly Rogue felt her powers kick in. Like being hit with a powerful wave. She could feel all of Gambit's thoughts rush into her head. 'No!' she screamed inside her head as she pulled her lips off of his.  
  
"Rogue…" he said weakly, before his eyes shut, and his head rolled to one side.  
  
"No!" she screamed as she stood up. Her hands went to the sides of her head, as her mind tried to sort through all the new memories. Which ones were hers? Which ones were Gambit's? Suddenly she felt a tingling in her hands. She took them off of her head, and held them in front on her. She looked down to see her gloves glowing. She stared at them a moment, before they exploded. Rogue stumbled backwards a few feet, and almost fell off the roof, but she grabbed onto a chimney. The chimney began to glow, as a loud crackling noise filled the air. "NO!" she screamed.  
  
The door leading into the mansion swung open as Wolverine, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Storm appeared in the doorframe. "What's going on-" Wolverine began before his attentions went to the glowing chimney Rogue was holding onto.  
  
"Help Me!" Rogue screamed as she reached a hand towards them. Suddenly the chimney exploded sending her flying off the roof.  
  
"Rogue!" shouted Kurt.  
  
BAMF!  
  
Wolverine and Cyclops ran towards the edge of the roof, as Storm Followed. Storm's attentions soon turned to the unconscious Gambit as they ran by him.  
  
BAMF!  
  
Nightcrawler appeared on the roof near where the Chimney used to be with an unconscious Rogue in his arms. Remains from the Chimney still drifted through the air as Wolverine and Cyclops ran to his side. Kurt looked beyond them to see Storm standing over Gambit. Rage began to fill his eyes.  
  
"Get her down to Med Lab NOW!" barked Wolverine as he retracted his claws and pointed towards the door. Nightcrawler nodded.  
  
BAMF!  
  
Wolverine turned and ran towards the door. "Wait Logan!" Storm called out to him, "What about the boy?"  
  
Wolverine gave a low growl as his claws appeared. "Just leave it to me…"  
  
"No!" Stated Cyclops with a hand to his temple as he stepped in between Wolverine and the defenseless Gambit. "The Professor just told me to bring him down to Med Lab too."  
  
Wolverine gave another growl as he retracted his claws and ran for the door. Cyclops and storm picked up Gambit and made their way to Med Lab.  
  
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(A/N: Ok, so there you go, Chapter 11 part 2  
  
This Chapter took SO much effort. *wipes sleep out of her eyes* Like I'm going to go take a nap right now! No seriously, you guys have no clue how much tweaking went into this. There was this one part that was so utterly our of character. But it NEEDED to happen for everything to make sense. ARG! It was SO hard making it all 'believable'. And then there was this other part… but I digress…  
  
Just incase any of you forgot, I made a few references to earlier chapters. Like in Chapter 2, when they had their first real conversation, (with the rule book ect ect) and later in the 4th chapter I think it was, with the fire drill, when he finds out that she had a dream about him ect ect, and the last one was in the Wayne's world chapter, when she had another dream about him. Just incase you guys were stumped for those parts.  
  
Just as kind of a side not, is anyone else bothered by the fact that when Kurt's image inducer is on, his shirt is tucked into his boxers? If you haven't noticed, do a google image search or something and check it out, I never really noticed it, and now it bothers me a lot. I think the reason it bothers me so much, Is because, now bear with me a moment, The professor programmed the image inducer to make him look like that, right? So the Professor PURPOSEFULLY programmed Kurt to look like he had his shirt tucked into his boxers… that's just kreepy  
  
And before you go and tell me "Your reading into things to much.", "Its just a cartoon", or "Quit doing drugs!" let me just say, I am completely aware of the fact that it is a cartoon, and a children's cartoon at that. But still, come on… tucked into his boxers? That's not right!  
  
Ok! On to Shout outs:  
  
ishandahalf: OMG!!! Look at that, it's the roof talk!!! You must be so happy!! Well maybe you aren't because of the way I ended it, but the point is that the 'roof talk' happened. And I am sure that up until the last few paragraphs you were ecstatic, and that is enough for me! Well now you can look forward to the 'Med Lab talk' right? lol  
  
Wiccamage: I heart you so much!!! O man thanks SO much for your help with this chapter. I can't even give you enough gold stars to do you justice. You really helped me out A LOT and I'm sure everyone here appreciates your efforts. And I'm so glad my medicine didn't cloud my judgment on that one part ^_^ and I think I am all better now, thanks to you ;) You, plus ice cream, sleep, and lots and lots of medicine lol!! Thanks again for helping me!  
  
Nightcrawler03: I am SO glad you liked that part. It is one of my favorite little comedy bits in my whole story. Second only to the 'Leggo my Eggo' scene… and maybe the 'Cereal Bowl Races' scene… anyway, I'm glad you thought it was funny!  
  
willowmaven: No, I never took German. I am part German, and can speak a few words/phrases, but nothing big. Like if I was stranded in Germany, I wouldn't be able to ask where the bus station is, but I could ask for the newspaper, or tell someone there was a thunderstorm coming, and I know what to say if someone sneezes, (but EVERYONE can say that) lol Thanks for helping me with this chapter! I'll definitely look for an opening for that quote, Its to good to pass up, I just didn't want to put it in here, where it would be over shadowed by all the crazy stuff going on, you know? I need to do it justice! lol Thanks again for helping me! I'll e-mail you again if I need any more help  
  
Sarah Crysala: I hope that answers some of your questions, and I am SO glad you found the whole Kurt/Kitty/German thing funny. I love that scene so much.  
  
Wizardess Gal: *jaw drops while green sandels stares at Wizardess Gal for a few minutes like a deer in headlights* Are you ok there sparky? I mean if me taking away your gold star privileges has caused you to go permanently insane then… you can have your gold star back *hands Wizardess Gal a gold star* and I guess you can have some chocolate milk… but no more sugar for you… in fact, you should go take out one of those little squares of carpet and have nap time… for like a year… P.S. I'm glad you're a happy purple cow ^_^  
  
Rogue77: I am sorry it was a cliff hanger, It wasn't really suppose to be, but I guess this chapter is kind of a cliff hanger too… so… *gets on knees* I AM SO SORRY!!! I AM SO SORRY!!! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!!! *Stands up* well that's enough of that. See you next chapter  
  
icephoenix8: *green sandels checks her pulse* hey look at that, I guess you didn't kill me because I'm still alive. Yea for ME! Anyway, if you kill me, then you'll NEVER find out what happens. Hmmm… Just something to think about.  
  
ElizabethDarcy-RogueleBea: "I really liked this fic" liked? You don't anymore? *cries a little* j/k I'm sure it was a typo, or at least I hope it was. ^_^ I completely agree! Whenever people focus on any person in a story, it gets amazingly boring! I love my little comic relief bits I put in this story, and Kurt helps me with most of them. Like 'Leggo My Eggo' and racing for the front seat, and the Random stuff in German, I love them all so! Well I got a little side tracked there, but the point is that I am so glad you found it funny, I was very proud of myself for coming up with the scene  
  
CherryShadowZ: Kudos to you for writing me a review that said nothing about my story/new chapter! Lol 


	13. Anything stronger than water?

(A/N: Well it's been a couple weeks, and that means its time for another chapter. All joking aside, I am really sorry about making you guys wait so long, but you have NO clue how busy my life has been sense school starting up. I understand how impatient you guys have, like I said, I am sorry you had to wait so long, but you have NO clue what has been going on. Besides the fact that school has started, and SAT classes, and work, and other assorted time-takers, my mom had to be hospitalized, because she was having trouble breathing. (Don't worry she is fine now.) So the past few weeks have been nothing short of hectic.   
  
I don't mind the occasional kick in the butt to get me writing, but you have to use some common sense. And don't worry, I am not talking about the people who submitted reviews asking me to update. I appreciate those. It's the people who send me e-mails almost every day asking why i didn't update that exact second they asked me to. It was only this one person, but I thought I should just fill you all in.  
  
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Ok, all seriousness aside, time to get back in the deep end. Lets see, I know it has been a while so let me refresh you on this fic's events. The last couple chapters showed Gambit and Rogue getting closer. Last chapter, they were on the roof where Gambit gave her a watch that he said would negate her powers so that she could touch. She, at first, rejected the gift, knowing it would put Gambit is Sinister's debt. She decided they could just "try it out". The end result was that her powers did kick in, knocking out Gambit. Rogue eventually went unconscious after blowing up a few items. They were both brought down to Med Lab.  
  
Before we get this show on the road, I just want to bring one thing to everyone's attention. *TheWalrusWasPaul* brings up a good point, and trust me I did not do it on purpose. Last chapter I put a quote in straight from the comics that I thought would add to the story for anyone who has read them. I didn't give recognition to the comics, and I am really sorry about that. You see, while some people were helping me edit the chapter, I had told them about how it was a quote, and where it was from, and all that stuff, and when it came to posting the chapter, I didn't even think of putting in recognition for it, because it felt like I already had. So, I will put something in at the bottom of last chapter. Thanks again *TheWalrusWasPaul*.  
  
Ok, I think that about sums it up. On with the show!)  
  
  
  
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Chapter 13  
  
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Kurt grumbled something in German as he sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting area outside of Med Lab.  
  
"You ok Kurt?" Kitty asked as she stood up from her seat and walked over to the blue elf. She sat down in the seat next to his.  
  
Kurt continued to complain in German, but finally stopped after he looked up to Kitty's face. "I got kicked out…" he said solemnly as he gestured over his shoulder to the door he had come out of.  
  
Kitty smiled softly, "What did you do?"  
  
"What did I do?" He asked sarcastically, "I didn't do anything." Kurt crossed his arms sternly, but weakened after a knowing gaze from Kitty. "Professor said I was distracting Dr. McCoy."  
  
Kitty nodded sympathetically, but smiled inwardly. 'That probably means he tried to beat up that unconscious acolyte.' She quickly became aware of a smile that had crept onto her face and tried her best to hide it, "How is Rogue doing?" Her smile vanished as a look of concern replaced it.  
  
Kurt frowned, "Nothing has changed."  
  
"She'll be fine."  
  
"I hope so Kitty, I hope so."   
  
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The scene inside Med Lab was a mixture of emotions ranging from anger to sympathy, but it mostly consisted of concern. Logan paced back and forth at the foot of a bed where Rogue lay unconscious. Professor X had a hand at his temple, while Scott looked on in unease.  
  
The Professor lowered his hand after a moment and frowned as he shook his head lightly.  
  
"Did you get anything Professor?" But Scott already knew the answer.  
  
"No Scott," The Professor said as his elbows found their place at his arm rests. "Its very odd indeed. I can't seem to get anything short of static from her…" he trailed off into deep thought, but was awoken as two hands on his shoulders shook him. The Professor looked up to Scott, who now stood over him.  
  
"What do you mean you can't get anything?!" Scott almost yelled, "You're the world's strongest telepath, you have to get something!" Scott suddenly realized what he was doing and removed his hands form the Professor. "I'm sorry professor… It's just…"  
  
"It is hard on all of us Scott." The Professor reassured, "To have a teammate in such a critical state, and know nothing about it."  
  
Scott nodded as he looked up to see Dr. Hank McCoy enter the room from his office. He was wearing a small pair of reading glasses, which looked out of place on the huge beast. He was also wearing a somber expression as he read the chart in his hand. "It is quite perplexing indeed, Professor." Hank began as he looked up from his reading. "But I'm sure it will be reassuring to know we are not completely in the dark anymore." His solemn face broke as the gesture of a smile appeared. "I have here the results from the watch Rogue was wearing." Hank gestured to the chart as he flipped back a few pages. "It was a very fascinating piece of technology." he continued, now talking more to himself than anyone else in the room, "I've never seen anything like it in all my years of study. And to think, I would come across it in such a peculiar way as-"  
  
"Well spit it out!" Barked Logan as he withdrew his attentions from Rogue and brought his glare to Hank.  
  
Hank nodded as he turned back to the page he was on. "Well, my results show that inside the watch is a most peculiar device. The device appears to be finely tuned to Rogue and her powers."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Scott as he took a step towards the doctor. "It was made specifically for her?"  
  
Hank nodded again as he continued. "Yes. The device seems to have been actually designed to deactivate Rogue's absorptive power."  
  
"That's doesn't make sense Mr. McCoy." Scott said as he shook his head.  
  
"Yeah." Logan added as he took a step closer to the three other mutants. "When we got to the roof, she was blowing things up left and right, and if that doesn't just scream Gumbo over there I don't know what does."  
  
"Well it's true that she eventually absorbed Gambit's powers." Dr. McCoy said as he turned to face Logan. "You see, the device seems to not so much negate her powers, as make her unaware of her powers being active. When she put on the watch, it did deactivate her powers for about a minute or so. After the initial minute, this cloaking device, if you will, made her unaware of her powers reactivating. This seems to have lasted about ten seconds before deactivating itself. Allowing Rogue to become fully aware of what she had done."  
  
"What did she do?" asked Scott as he looked over to Rogue on the bed.  
  
"Science can only tell me so much. I can deduce that she had to have had prolonged skin to skin contact with Gambit, but other than that… I can't really say."  
  
But Hank had heard all the rumors about Rogue and Gambit, as he was sure everyone else in the room had. There was no denying the scenario that was going through everyone's mind. A kiss. Hank was only grateful that Kurt was no longer in the room.  
  
"What did that Cajun try to pull on her?" Logan walked up to the foot of the bed as his hands clenched into fists.  
  
"I don't think Gambit created the device, Logan." The Professor added as he turned to face him.  
  
"What are you talking about Charles? We know that he gave it to her. He obviously knew what it did."  
  
"Why would he bring this on himself…" the Professor laced his fingers together near his chin, "No, I think that someone might have been using Rogue as a weapon against him."  
  
"Are you serious Professor?" Scott asked in disbelief as he returned his attention to the Professor.  
  
"I am being very serious Scott. Though I can't sense a motive for such an act, all possibilities must be considered."  
  
"What's stopping you from seeing her memories of what happened on the roof?" Scott asked the Professor with a sense of hope in his heart. Hope that maybe this time the Professor would be able to find something.  
  
"No Scott, I am unable to get anything from her mind. It is now clear to me that along with Gambit's powers, Rogue has absorbed his mental shields as well." The Professor watched as Scott looked away defeated. "We will just have to wait until she wakes up to have our questions answered."  
  
'If she wakes up…' Thought Logan as a lump of rage built up in his throat. He gave a loud growl as he turned away from Rogue to face the others. "So we just wait, is that it?"  
  
"Yes Logan." Added the Professor. "We wait."  
  
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(A/N: do da la do-do da la do (did someone say coma dream? Oh wait, I just did!))  
  
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It was a cold night on the streets of France, but the temperature was the least of her worries. 'France?' Rogue thought, 'What am I doing in France?' but the moment of self-doubt vanished before it was even registered. 'I have to get to Notre Dame!' she said to herself as she began to run down the street.  
  
Rogue felt the cold wind blow open her trench coat as she ran, but gave little attention to it as she closed in on Notre Dame. She slowed down as she neared the building, and began to make out a figure on the roof. 'non, ceci ne peut pas être (no, this can't be)' she thought as an unforgettable silhouette peered down to her. "Creed!" she shouted up to him as the shadow began to laugh.  
  
"I see you got the letter I left in your room." shouted Victor Creed.  
  
"You mean your ransom note?" Rogue shouted up in a Cajun accent. "Yeah, Gambit got that, now where is Henri?!"  
  
"Did you bring what I asked for?"  
  
Rogue, with a heavy sigh, reached into a pocket and produced the pendant. She held it above her head, towards Creed. "L'Etoile du Tricherie" (the cheating star) (A/N: that is the name of the pendant) "Now where is Henri?"  
  
"Aww…" Creed mocked, "You're taking all the fun out of this. Oh well, I still got another way to have fun. Lets play a little game." Creed gestured to the edge of the roof, where Rogue could make out something hanging from a rope.  
  
"No games Creed. Where's Henri?"  
  
"That's the game," he mocked, "It's a choice." Creed walked over to the ledge of the roof near the rope. Rogue walked closer and could now make out two things hanging from ropes. Two… people. "We have here your brother, Henri. And on rope number two, a certain little lady… I believe you two have met."  
  
"Genevieve?!" Rogue shouted.  
  
"Now here is the game," shouted Creed, "You give me the pendant, and I let one of them live."  
  
"No!" Rogue shouted.  
  
"You get to pick which one lives," Creed continued, "And which one dies." He began to laugh as the obvious fear filled all of their faces. "Now choose quickly or I might just let both of them fall." His smile widened. "Here, maybe this will help you make up your mind." He bent down and cut off the handkerchief, which was over Genevieve's mouth.  
  
"Remy! m'épargne s'il vous plaît! (Remy! Please save me!)"  
  
Rogue said nothing, but soon felt her eyes look up to the roof. "Henri," she paused, before lowering her head in shame. "Let him live."  
  
"Non! (no!)" Shouted Genevieve, "Remy, vous avez dit que vous m'avez aimé! (Remy, you said you loved me!)"  
  
Soon the cold night's air was filled with her screams as she plummeted towards the sidewalk. "No!" Shouted Rogue as she reached an arm up towards the roof, but it was to late. She looked away just before an unmistakable 'thud' reached her ears.  
  
Creed began to shout something down to her, but all she could hear was Genevieve's last words. 'Vous avez dit que vous m'avez aimé! (You said you loved me)'  
  
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(A/N: do da la do-do da la do (Incase you were wondering, that event actually happened in Gambit's past, same names, same basic situation. I didn't quote it word for word or anything, but if you know about Gambit's past, I think it is fairly accurate.))  
  
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An audible groan came from Rogue as she squirmed a little under the sheets.  
  
"She's waking up!" Shouted Scott into Dr. McCoy's office where Hank and the Professor were talking. The three came back into the Med Lab to join Logan who was sitting in the chair by the head of the bed.  
  
Rogue's eyes slowly fluttered open before she groaned again, obviously disapproving of the fluorescent lights above her. Her right hand went up to her face to shield her eyes.  
  
"Hey," Logan said lightly as he leaned in a little. "How you feeling?"  
  
"Pourquoi c'est si brillant? (Why is it so bright?)" Rogue mumbled in a deep Cajun accent.  
  
Scott looked at her in surprise as Dr. McCoy reached to the doorframe and dimmed the lights a little.  
  
Rogue removed her hand and pushed her self up in the bed. She blinked a few more times to bring everyone's faces into focus. Soon she noticed the blank stares of confusion from everyone in the room. "Que est mauvais? (What's wrong?)"  
  
The Professor laughed lightly as he placed a hand to his temple. They would appreciate it if you spoke in English He sent the thought to her and she seemed surprised by the sudden voice in her mind.  
  
Rogue hesitated before speaking again. "I'm sorry…" the words rolled out of her mouth, and though they were in English, they still had a thick Cajun accent. Rogue gave another groan as she lifted a hand to her temple. "My head is killing me. What happened?"  
  
"Well," said Hank as he handed her a small plastic cup with two aspirin tablets in it. "We were hoping you would tell us."  
  
"I… I can't remember..." Rogue said disappointed. She took the plastic cup and looked around her for something to drink.  
  
"I'll get you some water." Logan said as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the corner of the room. He picked up the pitcher of water off the table and poured some into a glass. When he walked back to the bed to hand it to her, Rogue gave a thick laugh while still holding her head.  
  
"You got anything stronger than water?" she asked in a tone that seemed to hint that she had asked this question before.  
  
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, stripes." Logan said as he handed her the glass.  
  
Rogue took the water and with it swallowed the tablets. "How long was I asleep?" she asked in an accent that was almost her usual Mississippi draw, as she handed the glass back to Logan who placed it on a table.  
  
"You've been unconscious for about four hours," stated Scott. "Are you sure you can't remember anything Rogue?"  
  
"No Scott," said the professor calmly, "That can wait until later. Right now Rogue should relax and collect her thoughts." Scott nodded in understanding. "What is important is that Rogue is awake. We will be back later Rogue, you should rest now."  
  
Rogue watched as the three left the room. Dr. McCoy remained and turned to face her. "I'll be just in the next room if you need anything." She nodded in thanks as Hank left her to her thoughts.   
  
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'What did happen?' Rogue thought as she lay back down on the bed. 'I remember being in my room… but then I was on the roof…' Rogue shook her head lightly. 'What was I doing on the roof?'  
  
Rogue tried hard to remember what had happened to her, when her stomach began to growl. 'Well I remember I didn't get any dinner…'  
  
She eased her self out of bed. 'Now where is Dr. McCoy?' Rogue thought as she looked over to the hallway he had walked down.  
  
"Dr. McCoy?" she called out. At the end of the hallway, she could see a rectangle of light on the ground. She walked towards it, and noticed that one of the room's lights were on. As she neared the open door she could hear the voices of Beast and Storm.  
  
"And how is he doing?" asked Hank.  
  
"He hasn't fully awoken yet, but he has been stirring lately." Answered Ororo.  
  
Rogue entered the room and immediately got the attention of the other two X-men. "Um, I was wondering if I could get something to eat. I didn't get any dinner last night and…" She stopped talking when she noticed the Cajun lying on the bed in front of her.  
  
Gambit moaned as his right hand went up to the side of his head. "Que l'enfer… (What the hell…)" He said as he rubbed the side of his head that was throbbing the most. He squinted a little as he looked to Rogue. "You sure pack a punch." He said, with as much of a smirk as he could muster.  
  
"You!" Rogue shouted as she pointed a finger at Gambit. But it was quickly pulled back as both hands went to the sides of her head.  
  
"Chere?"  
  
Rogue said nothing. Her mind was filling to the brim with memories. She remembered who was on the roof with her. She remembered the watch. She remembered Genevieve.  
  
A sudden rush of rage filled Rogue, and she was no longer able to control herself. "Comment vous pourriez faire qu'à elle? (How could you do that to her?)" She shouted.  
  
"Chere?" Gambit asked as he laughed uneasily at her new accent.  
  
"Comment vous pourriez faire qu'à elle?! (How could you do that to her?!)" She shouted as she looked up to him with the hint of tears in her eyes.  
  
"Who Rogue?" he asked, now confused at her question. "You? Gambit swears he had no idea that-"  
  
"Pas Moi! (Not me!)" She shook her head, "Genevieve!"  
  
All joking left Gambit's face when he heard her name. "Rogue don't…" He said sternly as his own eyes became filled with dread.  
  
"Vous elle permet de mourez! (You let her die.)"  
  
"Je n'avait pas de choix! (I had no choice!)" He almost yelled back to her.  
  
"Vous elle permet de mourez! (You let her die.)"  
  
"Ne pas ceci me faire, Rogue! (Don't do this to me, Rogue)"  
  
"Vous elle permet de mourez! (You let her die.)" She repeated louder, almost screaming.  
  
"Vous pensez que je ne sait pas cela?! (You think I don't know that?!)" He asked sarcastically as he stood up out of bed. "Vous pensez que je ne me rappelle pas tous les jours?! (You think I don't remind myself every day?!)"  
  
"Elle vous a aimé! Elle vous a aimé Remy! Et vous avez dit que vous l'avez aimée aussi, mais cela n'était pas vrai! (She loved you! She loved you Remy! And you told her that you loved her back, but that was a lie!)" Rogue tried to calm down, but the emotions inside her were so hard to control. Her eyes filled with tears, as her breathing became shaky.  
  
Storm put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Rogue?"  
  
Rogue took a step forward and out of Storms arms. "It was just another heist to you wasn't it? She was expendable, she meant nothing to you."  
  
"Chere that's not true-"  
  
"I don't know what's true anymore." Rogue said as Storm's arm went back around her. This time she did not move.  
  
"Come on Rogue," said Storm soothingly, "Lets go get you to your bed…"  
  
Rogue nodded and they both turned to leave. Rogue stopped just outside the door and looked back to Gambit. "Je veux que vous soit parti. (I want you to leave.)" She said it calmly, and then she was gone.  
  
Gambit sat back down onto the bed as his hands went up to his temples. 'Genevieve!' he thought, 'Of all my memories, she had to see that one. Not a day goes by I don't mourn her, but that will mean nothing to Rogue. Not now… not ever.'  
  
Gambit stood up and walked towards the door. 'She is right. I should leave.' He breathed heavily. 'I have to live with my mistakes, but she shouldn't have to. I've done to much damage already.'  
  
"Wait!" called Hank as his hand grabbed Gambit's shoulder. "I can't let you leave. You could fall unconscious again."  
  
"Gambit has to leave." He said as he shook off his hand.  
  
"You won't be permitted to leave with out an escort. Please, just wait another hour for me to finish my tests, and then I will let you out."  
  
Gambit stopped. "Fine… what ever. Just make it quick."  
  
"You have my word." Beast said honorably as Gambit sat back down on the bed. Beast examined a machine, and wrote some numbers down on a chart.  
  
Gambit took out a deck of cards, and began to idly shuffle them. 'Genevieve…' he thought 'Rogue, I am so sorry.'  
  
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(A/N: WOA! That one was CRAZY dramatic! I'm so used to doing some comedy bit in each chapter, but it would have been tasteless to put it in this one. There was no real opportunity for me to have Kurt do something crazy. I mean, I did what I could to ease your mind off all the dramatic stuff, like having Kurt get kicked out, or how Rogue asked for alcohol (because she was still kind of under Gambit's influence), but it would have been weird to put some big comedy bit in such a serious chapter.  
  
Ok, it's time for some more than over due shout outs. You guys probably don't even remember what you said to me last for me to give you a shout out lol. Oh well, I'll try to mention what you wrote.  
  
ishandahalf: man… I guess my bunny ran out of crack for a month or so… lol you more than deserved that chapter dedicated to you! I just feel bad that there was no Romy in THIS Med Lab talk (that's a big hint just for YOU that there is going to be more nice talkie talkie next chapter) I also loved how she didn't take the watch from him right away (holly awesome catch phrases, Batman) Anyway, I hope you tag along to see what happens next chapter when they do get to talking… alone (see there I go with the hints…) see you next chapter!  
  
willowmaven: Thanks for not calling me crazy, I do that enough myself ^_^ I'm thinking I can work that AWSOME quote you had into next chapter. No promises, but a BIG probable. Thanks so much for reading over this chapter; I was so worried that the coma dream thing wasn't clear, thanks for helping me with it and everything else. I am so proud of you for beating your security system! *dances on security system's grave with willowmaven*  
  
Chaotic Boredom: regardless of the fact that that was complete incoherent babbling, I understood every word of it ^_^ and that is why we should both go on medication. Nah, but still, I appreciate your review.  
  
Wiccamage: five platinum stars?! WOW, I have never received such an honor! *cries a little* these are going on some sort of plaque, and then on my wall. Thanks so much for helping me get this back up again, and for putting up with my tardiness in updating. *smacks forehead* I can't believe I spelled Rogue wrong so many times lol thank god you caught it!  
  
Nightcrawler03: Who doesn't love the tender sweet Romyness… sorry for the lack of it in this chapter  
  
Andi: I apologize for breaking the unwritten rule about cliffhangers lol Oh well, if I go to jail, then you will never hear the rest of the Romy, unless my cell has a computer with internet connections… and that is just a waist of tax payer's money, so how about I just get off with a warning this time, eh?  
  
Dark Elf3: I hope the wait wasn't to bad… Trust me, things WILL eventually look up for both of them  
  
Wizardess Gal: And you deserve that gold star! But for just what I don't quite remember anymore, but I do remember I took it away cause you went all crazy… but then I gave it back cause you went more crazy… *memories* ahh… good times  
  
Denial: Oh I'm going to like your reviews! I think you are the first person EVER to compliment me on my cliffhangers. Don't worry, before the others beat you I should mention that you were probably just complimenting HOW the cliffhanger came to be, and not so much the fact that I ended in a cliffhanger. I hope it made sense to you, and everyone, about how I portrayed Gambit being in Rogue's head in this chapter. I tried to make it as clear as possible. Can't wait to hear from you again!  
  
Rogue77: I am the LAST person on earth to tell someone else they are spelling stuff wrong lol. Old school SNL is a true treasure (^_^) I don't know… now that they have lost Will Ferrell, I see it all going down hill. I think he was the last of the greats, and trust me, I'm not saying that he is from old school SNL, just of the recent years; he was one of the best. Thanks for liking my story so much!!  
  
Shi The Goddess of Death: I am sorry it took so long, really I am, but as you can see, there was… circumstances stopping me. Anyway, I'm back! And ready to go! cya next chapter  
  
TheWalrusWasPaul: Thanks again for bringing the whole comic thing to my attention. And thanks for liking my story. Are you sure that that is the exact comic the quote appeared in? I am going to put some sort of recognition at the end of last chapter, and want to make sure I have the right info. Thanks again.  
  
Zeelee: Thanks for trying to help me, I wasn't really having writers block, but I eventually will, and when I do that will come in handy. I completely agree, to many times has the roof talk been copied over and over. That's why I am so proud of my fic in general, the fact that I have used some things that are over done, and done them differently, or come up with completely new things, like 'the fire drill' to have them meet? I love that one. Anyway, thanks for reading my fic  
  
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READ THIS!!!  
  
Hey, I just wanted to get everyone's opinion of the last episode of Evo.  
  
I had a lot of problems with the way they ended it. I hate to sound like I'm complaining, but there was some stuff I think they definitely screwed up.  
  
*First off, No Gambit L  
  
When I first noticed he wasn't there, it bothered me, but I was more just let down than annoyed. I mean, it's not like they put Colossus AND Pyro in the episode and forgot about Gambit. I kept telling myself that whatever Rogue's 'Secret Mission' was would have something to do with him, because he was just to awesome (l^_^) that they didn't want to just give him some generic spot in the back ground like Angel (which is something else that bothered me). But after a commercial break or two, I got to thinking. Pyro was a bad guy, he worked for Mystique, and he wouldn't fight with the X-men regardless. Colossus on the other hand, was a good guy in the comics and old cartoon, so it would only be fair to have him come to the X-men in this episode. But Gambit was in the same boat. Maybe not the SAME boat, but you know what I mean. He WAS an X-man. And if they took the time to write Colossus into a good guy role in THIS of all episodes, it annoys me that Gambit wasn't in it.  
  
*Secondly, That whole 'Kurt Telling off Mystique' thing  
  
OMG! What the hell was that about? I don't care what point they are trying to prove about him maturing, or him finally seeing that his mom is evil. That's bull! Kurt was a MONK! The whole thing that gave Nightcrawler that edge of coolness that none of the other mutants could touch was the fact that his character was so forgiving. Before anyone yells at me, I DO NOT mean that he should let her walk all over him. I mean, in the episode of the old cartoon, when Mystique basically SOLD her son and daughter to the mutant resistance people, he forgave her. She couldn't understand why he could let her go after what she did to him, and he gave her a speech about how God would judge her, and that it was not his job to do so. Obviously, Kids WB can't have Kurt reading a bible, and wearing a cross, but they have to respect the base line of the character. Kurt doesn't turn his back on her. He could have said something along the lines of "Don't bother explaining yourself" and if he left it at that, and let Rogue tell her off, it would have made sense.  
  
I'm sure none of that makes any sense to any of you, but it feels good to get it off my chest. lol  
  
*Thirdly, Gambit being in the very end scene  
  
Oh man, THAT pissed me off! If they hadn't put his picture in that end scene (where all the X-men were gathered like 5 years down the road or what ever), and just let me accept that they left him out of the episode. It would have been fine. I would have complained a little to myself about how I wished he was in the episode, but I would have accepted the fact that for some reason they didn't want him there. But then BAM there he is in the end, standing right next to Rogue. Which can only lead me to believe that he EVENTUALLY feels the need to fight the good fight and become an X-man. But at the end of Cajun Spice, he was basically at that point. I mean, he told off his step dad and said some stuff to Rogue about watching over her. I don't know how to explain it, but to me, that was almost a slap in the face.   
  
*Fourthly, I KNOW I KNOW it's just a cartoon, don't worry, I'm not loosing sleep over this or anything.  
  
Anyway, in your review about this chapter (you read it a few minutes ago incase you forgot ^_^) be sure to tell me what you thoughts about the episode are, and if my last bit of ranting made any sense.  
  
If you would rather e-mail me about the last episode of Evo, go right ahead, that would be awsome, but please submit a review about my chapter.  
  
Catch you on the flip side!! 


	14. Antarctica in a nut shell

(A/N: hey look at me!!! I'm not dead!! But something tell me I might be soon… ha ha, I hope you guys aren't too angry about how long I took with this update, and I'm not even going to TRY and put up any excuses, because excuses are pointless. I'm sorry it took so long, but what the hey, here it is, so go on, get reading!  
  
Romy Forecast Update: This just in, extreme Romyness dead ahead. Don't read any further with out a raincoat and a box of tissues. (ha ha, I don't think you'll need tissues, but just giving you guys a heads up on Romyness. See you guys, I do deliver!))  
  
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Chapter 14  
  
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Rogue felt a chill down her spine as the sudden turn of a doorknob pulled her back to reality. She quickly wiped the residue of tears from her eyes and straitened herself up in the surprisingly comfortable Med Lab bed. She pulled in a deep breath before glancing up to see Kitty looking back at her through the doorway to her room. Her face showed brightly with the joy of seeing her friend awake.  
  
Kitty stood there a moment, before she rushed to the bed's side. "I am like so happy that Dr. McCoy finally said it was ok to come see you." She sat herself in the chair near the bed. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything? I could go get-"  
  
"I'm fine!" She insisted with a laugh that even surprised Rogue. "It's no big deal… I'm fine, really"  
  
Kitty's smile faded. "Well you could fool me. Your eyes are all red… have you been cry-"  
  
"No!" Rogue quickly cut her off before raising her hands to wipe her eyes again. "Of course not… I just…"  
  
"Rogue…"  
  
"I'm fine, really. It's just been a little… crazy. A lot has happened and I…" Rogue breathed deeply again.  
  
Kitty placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "What's wrong?"  
  
Rogue bit the inside of her cheek as she thought back to earlier that morning. "I… I can't explain it..."  
  
"What happened?" Kitty asked as she sat back in the chair and looked to Rogue like a child waiting for a bedtime story.  
  
The southern girl began with a large hesitation, "Last night, on the roof with Remy," Rogue shook her head, "with Gambit… when I touched him…" Rogue looked up to Kitty's eyes. "I got all these thoughts of his running around in my head. I got all these memories… I know some things about him I don't think he wanted anyone to know." She brought a hand up to her temple as she pulled up one of his thoughts. "And I know for a fact that he didn't want me to find out."  
  
"What?" Kitty asked not hiding her confusion.  
  
'Because he cares about me! Just say it Rogue!' but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. "I think I really screwed thing up this time Kitty."  
  
Kitty could see how torn up her roommate was, and couldn't stand to see her this way. "What did he do?"  
  
"It ain't what he did Kitty, It's what I did. I told him to leave. I told him to get out of here," Rogue looked down to her hands as she laced her gloved fingers in her lap, "That I never wanted to see him again."  
  
"Is that it?" Kitty asked with a chuckle, "Well that's easy to fix."  
  
"Excuse me?" Rogue asked defensively as she straitened up from her slouch. "And how exactly am I supposed to go about fixing it?"  
  
Kitty leaned away from Rogue almost uncontrollably. She hadn't meant to hit a nerve. "Well you just go talk to him…"  
  
"Talk to him?!" she asked sarcastically. "Oh is that it?"  
  
"Well… Yea…" Kitty flinched as Rogue raised her hands to her head.  
  
"It's not that easy Kitty… You don't understand…" She said calmly.  
  
The immediate danger left Kitty's eyes as she felt a twinge of anger in her heart. "You know what Rogue?" She asked in a demanding tone that surprised both girls. "You're always saying that. You're always saying that no one understands. But when any of us get close enough to try, you just start yelling about how you want your distance." Kitty got up out of her chair. "But Gambit, he isn't like the rest of us. You push him away, and he comes right back at you." She turned back to face Rogue, and couldn't believe that Rogue couldn't see it for herself. "At You!"   
  
Kitty saw the build up of anger in Rogue's face, but didn't give it time to surface. She quickly sat back down in the chair and continued in a more reassuring tone. "Look all I'm saying is that you've got a man over there, and as far as I can tell, he does understand you, and he is trying his hardest to get close to you." Rogue looked down to her lap as her fingers laced together once more. Kitty reached out and placed her hand on top of Rogue's. "No one can tell you how to live your life, but if you don't want him to leave, you just have to go tell him."  
  
Rogue didn't say anything as she stared down at her hands.  
  
Kitty gave her friend one final reassuring squeeze before getting up to leave. "Get some rest, ok?" She didn't stay long enough to hear a response before quietly shutting the door behind her. Once on the other side, Kitty leaned against the door and let out a slow breath. "You can do it, Rogue." She said softly to herself before walking away, and out of Med Lab.  
  
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Rogue clenched her hands into fists as Kitty's words rolled over in her mind. 'Who the hell does she think she is?! Kitty has got no right saying that to me. She doesn't understand, and I don't care how much I've said it, it's true!'  
  
'Kitty doesn't know anything about that Cajun thief's past! She hasn't seen what I still see in my mind.' Her fists loosened slightly as Gambit's thoughts echoed through her mind. A slow montage of visions of herself rolled vividly in front of her own eyes. 'No!' She seemed to scream inside her head. 'None of that matters!'  
  
Rogue threw her fists onto the bed beside her. 'It's a trick! You know it! He lied to all those girls. He never loved any of them. It doesn't matter how you feel about him. You can't trust him!'  
  
She continued to pummel the bed with her fists but stopped suddenly when she heard someone laughing. Rogue looked up to the doorway on the other side of her room, which connected to the Med Lab hallway. She picked her hand up to brush the hair away from her face.  
  
"Chere, vous devez apprendre à relâcher" {you need to learn to relax} Teased Gambit, who was leaning in the doorframe. A single playing card rolled lightly through his right hand.  
  
Rogue's face contorted with rage. "I thought I told you to leave!" she barked at him with out any hesitation.  
  
"The large blue homme told me to stay put while he finishes some tests." He answered, maintaining his smirk. "Besides chere, that professor of yours put some fancy locks on those exit doors."  
  
"Please!" Rogue scoffed as she tapped the side of her head. "I've been inside your thoughts Gambit and we both know you could get out of here if you wanted."  
  
A silence filled the air between them as Gambit's smirk faded. He looked down to the floor contemplating his next move. The only noise was the light swooshes of the card in Gambit's hand.  
  
Rogue's sour face faded for a moment as she heard her own words and understood their meaning. 'He doesn't want to leave yet…' She quickly crossed her arms over her chest. "Well?!" she asked in an aggressive tone.  
  
"Remy just wanted to explain himself." He stated still looking at the floor. Slowly he raised his eyes to hers. "You never gave him the chance…"  
  
"How can you possibly explain letting Genevieve die?" Rogue asked with disdain.  
  
"I had no choice." Gambit stated trying his hardest to stay calm.  
  
"Not from what I saw! It looked to me like you had a big choice!"  
  
"Some choice!" he shouted as he raised his hands in the air. "Yea Rogue, I had the PRIVILEGE of choosing between my BROTHER and some girl-!"  
  
"Some Girl?! Well this particular 'Some Girl' loved you! And as far as she knew, it was mutual!"  
  
Gambit mentally kicked himself for using those words. "That's not what I meant, and you know it"  
  
"All I know is she loved you and you let her die!"  
  
"That's Not True!" he exclaimed taking a few steps towards her bed. "You know more than that!"  
  
"Excuse me?" she asked defensively.  
  
"You were there! You saw what I saw!" he said as he started to lower his voice as his own memories brought him back to that night if France. "You felt what I felt… you had to… you had to of felt how hard it was for me to save Henri… you saw how torn I was, you felt it, I know you did… the way you stand up for Genevieve, you had to of felt it…" slowly Gambit sat down in the chair near Rogue's bed and ran his hands tensely through his hair.  
  
Rogue felt a wave of remorse run through her. She had felt everything Gambit had gone through. They were his memories, not hers. She wouldn't have felt so angry at him for Genevieve's death if he wasn't already angry at himself.  
  
Gambit turned to look at Rogue. "You felt how ashamed I was for saving Henri… you had to."  
  
Rogue looked back to him with understanding eyes. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to apologize, to say she was over reacting, or even to take his hand is reassurance if she couldn't say it herself. But for some reason the words wouldn't leave her mouth. She settled for a sympathetic smile.  
  
Gambit returned the gesture with no hesitation. "It must be hard for you…" he continued after a slight pause. "To go through this every time you touch someone." He paused only a moment as his expression returned to concern. "Have to sort through their memories like that."  
  
"I don't think I'll ever get used to it." She answered honestly.  
  
Another silence fell between them, this one more comfortable then the last. On the outside, Gambit appeared calm and collected, but his thoughts were anything but.  
  
'Don't know if I should tell her… don't know if I should bring it up.' He thought to himself in the quiet Med Lab room. 'She might get paranoid… or scared…' Gambit mentally shook his head of any such thought. 'No I don't think that be a problem… but she might want to come with me, and that could be trouble.'  
  
"What are you thinking about?" Rogue asked, obviously confused by his now worried expression.  
  
Gambit snapped his attention back to her. "Nothing chere."  
  
Rogue crossed her arms over her chest. "You were thinking about something, and it looked pretty important…"  
  
Gambit smiled as he tried to think of a quick lie, but after looking into her eyes, he knew he wouldn't come up with one. For the first time, she looked fragile to him. She looked like she had been hurt by lies before, and that she knew one was coming.  
  
Gambit took in a breath before saying anything. "Honestly chere, Remy is worried about you."  
  
"About me? Please." She shook her head. "I'll be fine, I've just got to sort through some things in my head-"  
  
"As much as Remy cares about your health, that's not what he means."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Rogue… Has anyone told you about what happened to you on the roof last night?"  
  
"I think I can put two and two together. We… touched… and then you went unconscious, and knowing your powers, I probably blew something up."  
  
Gambit gave a light laugh at her bluntness, and her avoidance of the word 'kiss', but his smile soon left as he began to speak. "Not that, about the watch I gave you."  
  
"No, I haven't heard anything about it… but it didn't work anyway, right?"  
  
"Actually chere, it did exactly what it was designed to do."  
  
"But my powers still kicked in."  
  
"But for a while, they were negated. From what I've read from that blue homme's reports, the watch was designed to negate your powers for a minute or two. Then after that, your powers kicked in, but you weren't able to tell."  
  
"Why would someone do that?" she asked as she looked down at her gloves.  
  
"Not sure. Think maybe Essex trying to turn you against me. Maybe punish me for not watching Magneto for him. Not sure though."  
  
Rogue shook her head; this was all too much. "That Essex guy would do something like this just to prove a point?"  
  
"He'd do a lot worse Rogue, this… this was a warning."  
  
Suddenly Rogue had an idea. "Then stay here with us. If Essex is after you, then you'll be safe here at the mansion."  
  
Gambit shook his head. "Can't do that. Not now."  
  
"Why not? You can't leave! It's not safe!"  
  
Gambit smirked as he looked back to her eyes. "Glad to know you care bout Gambit so much, but that's not the point." His expression became serious. "The problem isn't why Essex did it, that doesn't matter. The problem is how he did it."  
  
"The technology he used?"  
  
"Not really. Always knew he had all those scientists for reasons. No surprise that he could make something like that watch. The kicker is that the watch would only work on you. It was specially made for your powers."  
  
"But how could he know so much about me and my powers?"  
  
"That's exactly what Gambit needs to go find out."  
  
"No!" Rogue almost shouted. "You can't just walk back in his lab. If he's looking for you – he'll expect you – it's not safe!"  
  
"Gambit can take care of himself."  
  
"Well I'm coming with you!" Rogue stated firmly as she started to get up from the bed. But before she knew it, Gambit was standing over her gently forcing her back.  
  
"No rogue, you can't come."  
  
"Don't tell me what to do Cajun!" She said as she pushed his hand off of her and stood back up. "This is about me, I'm going to go!"  
  
"That's why you can't."  
  
"Excuse me?!"  
  
"Gambit don't know what Essex knows about you, or why. For all he knows Essex is trying to capture you or something." He shook his head sternly. "Sorry Rogue, can't bring you into a trap."  
  
Rogue stared him in the eyes coldly. But soon weakened as she realized the possible danger. "Fine." She said sternly, as if she hadn't lost, "But you have to bring the X-Men with you. For all we know you could be walking into a trap."  
  
"No. Out of the question. Gambit works alone."  
  
"This could have all been a trick to get you to go back there alone, I won't let you go by yourself."  
  
"Good thing you don't get a say in it." He stated as he turned to walk towards the door.  
  
"Wait!" she called as he stopped in his tracks. "As soon as you leave I'll tell the Professor what's going on and they'll follow you anyway."  
  
Gambit clenched his fist in anger but forced it to subside. He quickly traced his mind for his next move. 'I can't tie her up - not if I'm trying to get on her good side… but maybe some other time…' he smirked inwardly, but soon went back to the problem at hand. 'Don't want to lie to her; don't want to ever lie to her again. But I can't get in and out of the Lab with a bunch of chaperones. I'll have to calm her down first.'  
  
He turned slowly and walked back to her. Rogue stood firmly with her hands on her hips and a poker face to rival Remy LeBeau's. With his eyes he pleaded with out saying a word. Gambit noticed a slight softening to her face as her arms dropped slightly before being crossed over her chest.  
  
"Chere, I know the compounds like the back of my hand. Gambit knows where all the cameras are, what doors go where, and where the files are kept. He knows what access codes open which doors, and anyone else would hold him back." He said softly as his hand went to her shoulder. " If I had to baby-sit someone else, and explain what to do – It would be dangerous for them, and for myself. It would put the whole mission in jeopardy."  
  
Rogue felt her knees almost give way as she stood there. From what memories she saw, she knew Remy had a way with the ladies, but this was too much. Rogue felt herself nod slightly before any words surfaced. "I understand," she said softly as she was finally able to break her eyes away from his and plaster them to the floor. "This is something you have to do alone, trust me I know the feeling. Just promise me you'll come back when your done." She looked back up to him.  
  
Gambit gave a gentle smile at the request and brought his other arm to the small of her back and embraced her. "Promise." He said softly near her ear as he held her.  
  
Rogue smiled inwardly, but after a moment's hesitation, pushed him off of her. "Go on now. Get out of here Cajun!" she said with a smile.  
  
Gambit gave her a smirk and a wink as he turned and walked down the hall way and out of Med-Lab.  
  
Rogue sat back down on her bed as she starred down the long hallway. A part of her felt she should be angry at him for trying to charm her, but the rest of her knew better. He hadn't tried to use his mutant powers to charm her - he didn't have to - Rogue felt that way around him anyway.  
  
'Your so stupid!' she scolded herself as her smile vanished. 'What are you thinking getting all mushy around him! He's just a snake charmer, you should know better!' Rogue held her head as she tried to sort through her own thoughts.  
  
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(A/N: OH MAN!!! That took FOREVER to write!!! I am a horrible Horrible person for making you guys wait like that. Bad green sandels, BAD! … I think I learned my lesson…  
  
So lets see… what happened this chapter? Is that sweet sweet romyness I smell in the air? What did you guys think? I think its about time Rogue showed some lovn' to Gambit … I make myself smile  
  
Just wanted to let you guys know:   
  
I think its pretty obvious to you guys by now that I try to integrate plot and ideas from the comics into this story, and I just wanted to elaborate on what I did in this particular chapter, incase you didn't pick up on it. Many of you know (where as most of you might not) that at one point in the comics Gambit got put on trial in Antarctica where Rogue found out some horrible thing in his past by kissing him (I won't go into it) but at the end of the trial, Rogue abandons Gambit to die. Much later on, Gambit Returns to the X-men and finally talks to Rogue to find out that she didn't really want to leave him there, and that the reason she had, was because he was still inside her from when they kissed, and he hated himself so much that he didn't want her to get hurt by saving him, and that she would be better off if he were dead. I tried to use this idea in this chapter by having her obviously over react in the past chapter over Genevieve's death, and then in this chapter (after she had had time to calm down and collect HER thoughts) have a realization that Gambit hates himself over what happened, and that it was his anger that she had had inside her.  
  
Personally, I am very pleased with the past two chapters and how I worked that in, but as always I would LOVE to hear what you think about it. A few of you even commented in your reviews about how you couldn't understand why Rogue couldn't see how hard it was for Gambit to let her die. I was so proud of the people who said stuff like that, you hit the nail on the head!!!  
  
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anyway, here are some long over due shout outs:  
  
Sage: what's that you say? "i don't understand how rogue doesn't get that" well look at you! That was the angle I was going for. I kind of 'revealed' it in this chapter, the whole idea that Rogue was only upset about what she had seen because Gambit was already angry at himself, and she had absorbed his self hatred. I'm glad you enjoined the chapter, I hope you liked how I resolved it in this one.  
  
Denial: I'm so glad you liked the plot I used. I love taking ideas and plot from the comics and integrating it into my fic. I completely agree that the memory I had Rogue see did exactly what I needed it to do. I was trying to do something with how Rogue left Gambit in Antarctica (because she had absorbed his self-hatred) but scaled down, so I just had her get really mad at him, but it was actually his anger. I'm actually really proud of that part, and I hope you enjoyed it. I also thought it was funny how they were fighting in French, I figured the 'heat of the moment' would cause both of them to go into French. I was really proud of it when I finished it, and I'm really happy to find out you enjoyed it too.  
  
ishandahalf: Man… if you thought I took to long LAST update… I actually just got the replacement crack bunny last Tuesday from the UPS guy, it jump started me back to finish this fic up. ha ha I also loved how I had her ask for something stronger than water, but I'm not sure how many memories Gambit has that consist of fluffy clouds and cute puppies… but that would have been funny in its own right lol Oh, and you are a VERY good detective for following all those SUBTLE hints I left for you about Romyness  
  
Gothic Cajun: I'm glad you found my story too, and I'm uber glad you think I'm so funny. Half the comic relief stuff in here I wrote not even thinking about weather or not any of the readers would think it was funny. I just wrote it to make myself laugh, and then I'll get reviews from people like you saying how funny I am, and how great the Leggo waffle scene was, or the cereal bowl races, or random German (which I think is my personal favorite) Also, I'm sorry I made you cry when you read the kiss scene, but at the same time, that is such a compliment, you have no clue how flattered I am to hear that my writing drove you to tears… that didn't sound right, but you know what I mean. I really take it as a major compliment, maybe I'll start crying ;) oh yes, and I too know the joy of online translators, lets just say I took Spanish in high school (and as far as I know Gambit doesn't say "amigos")  
  
Cuddness: you really don't know anything about Gambit and Rogue as a couple? Well don't worry, I won't yell at you like some writers would. Yes they were/are an item in the comics. The reason most Romy fans are Romy fans is because these two characters were almost made for each other. They are complete opposites, yet at the same time the complete each other. Gambit, the cocky Cajun who could have any girl he wants, he loves the chase. And then we have Rogue, the southern Belle who can't touch. She pushes people away because of her powers, which only makes Gambit want her more. You get the idea… thanks for reading  
  
Boomkat: Thanks again for all the help with my chapters. I swear every time I go to write my shout outs, I start freaking out because I didn't write one to 'Wiccamage' and it takes me some time to remember that you have a new screen name for ff.n Thanks also for all those platinum stars, but you are easily entitled to 2 of my five   
  
Wizardess Gal: I was laughing so hard when I read this one part of your review, "He's Pyro. He probably didn't really think about it very long before setting something on fire and forgetting all about it." so true... so true… I'm glad I'm not crazy and you also see how OOC Kurt was in telling his mom off. Well no, I know I'm crazy, but I'm glad that that bothered someone else too. Thanks so much for reading my fic, I always appreciate your input, I hope you liked this chapter.  
  
Sarah-Crysala: I'm glad you found my fic again, but after my little writing hiatus, you probably lost it again lol. Well I hope you are reading this, and that your not to mad it took me so long, and as always I hope you liked this new chapter, I think it's a lot less sad then the last chapter was… ha ha  
  
Chaotic Boredom: "Do not worry...I am also a person who takes forever and a day to update, so I will not criticize fur the lack on your part" I am going to hold you to that when all my readers come at me with flames and pitchforks after they find this update and find out I'm not dead, and was able to write this whole time but didn't. ha ha  
  
lidragon: actually, the person you are talking about was Pyro, not Gambit. In the last episode, they show a group of mutants that don't become x-men, and the one in the back with the handkerchief bandana thingy is supposed to be Pyro. Also, yes, Gambit and Rogue are an item in the comics.  
  
Zeelee: Thanks; I really am proud of how that scene turned out. When they started yelling at each other in French, and just the dynamics of it, how Gambit didn't know what was going on, and thought it was a joke because of her new Cajun accent. But once he heard Genevieve's name, he started up in French, kind of a 'heat of the moment' type thing. And no I wasn't talking about you when I was complaining about some reviewers. A couple people were sending me e-mails like every day, and they know who they are. Thanks for reading my fic  
  
millie: "looking forward to your next update barring any intrusions of reality and it's pesky responsibilities" stupid reality!! shakes fist what is it thinking? It's always in my way. Thanks for understanding, and for reading my fic  
  
Gambit's Gurl: Thanks for appreciating my rants! I go off on the smallest things, and I know I'm crazy for it, but I'm glad to know that my random complaints on minor details brings a smile to your face and trust me, I'm not being sarcastic when I say that!  
  
Rogue77, Starlight12, Luna: Thank you SO much for reading my fic and giving me such awesome reviews. You guys are so cool, and thanks for saying that I'm an "amazing" writer… that's so sweet   
  
HEY YOU!!! Yea You! Go review!!! What are you waiting for?!?! 


	15. Chapter 15

(A/N: I went over this last update, I'm not even saying my excuses anymore, I mean lets face it you guys don't really want to read through how busy my summer has been just as much as I don't want to be beaten to death by angry readers. So lets just say I won't talk about all my AP Physics summer assignments, my job or the volunteer work I do, and you guys don't form an angry mob. Is that ok with you guys? See, it's a win/win situation! A good time had by all.

On with the chapter, oh man, I'm really proud of this one kids. If you are a fan of Kurt and his inevitable comic relief you are going to like this chapter a lot… at least I hope you will, you'll just HAVE to review and let me know.

Onto a serious note, you ALL owe Wiccamage a cookie… or a cake… no wait one of those giant cookie cakes. Well you all owe her something for how awesome she has been with helping me with my story. A few chapters ago I gave her five gold stars, but somehow that's not enough to show how much she has made a difference in this fic, so I decided to write her a poem:

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Wiccamage is so damn cool  
if you don't agree then you're a fool  
When I would give others head aches  
She could always find my spelling mistakes  
A grammar slip-up she'll never miss  
even if its during Rogue and Gambit's kiss  
If she never helped me you wouldn't be reading  
a mob against me your would be most likely be leading  
Now this poem's been fun but all joking aside  
with out Wiccamage this fic would have died

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and THAT my friends, is from the heart!!! … on with the show!)

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Chapter 15

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Kurt sat alone in the TV room as he casually flipped through the channels. He leaned his head back as he let out a sigh.

BAMF!

When the smoke cleared, he hung from the ceiling above the couch. His feet were tucked securely under a beam as his tail swung idly behind him. Kurt continued to flip channels, hoping seeing things upside down would be more interesting.

"What are you doing up there?" Kitty asked as she entered the room and sat down on the couch beneath him.

"Just hanging around." Kurt answered not missing a beat as he changed the channel again.

Kitty let out a laugh; "I walked right into that one didn't I?"

Kurt nodded in reply. "How is Rogue doing?" he asked as his attention slipped from the screen to the top of Kitty's head.

"She's been awake for a while. Dr. McCoy is finally allowing visitors-"

BAMF!

"Wait!" she shouted as she stood up from the couch and bit her bottom lip. She was worried that Rogue wasn't up for a guest yet, especially not after her visit with Kitty. She didn't exactly leave Rogue in the highest of spirits, and if Rogue had listened to Kitty's advise she would be talking to Gambit right now. Kitty smiled. 'That's so cute!' she thought at the idea of Rogue and Gambit in the Med Lab together… alone. "Oh no." she said out loud as she shook her head, "Kurt! Wait!"

Kitty phased through the couch as she sprinted down the hallway after Kurt. 'Oh my god! If Kurt sees Gambit talking to her - even if they are just TALKING - Kurt's going to flip out.' Kitty told herself as she rounded a corner passing the kitchen. 'I've got to get down there first'

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"Geez! Watch It Kurt!" called Bobby as the blue teen jumped off a wall to avoid him.

"Sorry!" Kurt called behind him as he turned another corner and started down the next hallway towards the elevator.

Kurt smiled to see the elevator doors open as he darted towards them.

BAMF!

Kurt hit the button for the Med Lab and tapped his foot impatiently. He hated taking the elevator when he knew porting would be faster, but Dr. McCoy had made him promise to never teleport into Med Lab. Beast had said something about safety and patient confidentiality but Kurt couldn't remember the exact reason.

As the doors began to close he noticed something. 'That smell…' he thought as he sniffed the air to refresh his memory, but it didn't take much. Kurt knew the smell of Gambit's cologne, and he also knew it shouldn't be on the first floor.

BAMF!

Kurt reappeared in the hallway as the elevator doors closed with a soft thud behind him and the whirr of motors lessened as it descended. He smelled the air again and followed the scent down a few hallways until he stopped at a door that led outside towards the baseball field.

Opening the door Kurt looked outside. He quickly surveyed the area, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. 'Where did he go?' he thought furiously scanning the yard.

Suddenly Kurt heard something snap in the distance. He looked in the direction of the noise and could see Gambit pushing on the kickstand of his motorcycle with his foot.

BAMF!

Without hesitation Kurt vanished and reappeared in a tree almost twenty feet away from the mansion's gate. He perched on a large branch as he watched Gambit carefully.

Gambit heard the sound of leaves rustling in the tree behind him, but did not turn to look. 'Did Rogue order me a chaperone?' he thought, as he grew a little annoyed. 'Nah, I trust her, this homme must be following me all by himself.' He began to smile as he revved up his bike. 'Well let's just see if he can keep up.'

Gambit pulled his front wheel up off the ground as he sped off down the street. Kurt watched for only a moment.

BAMF!

With some smoke Kurt reappeared on top of the far end of the Mansion's gate and watched stealth fully as Gambit drove past him. Kurt glanced up to take in his new surrounding and quickly chose his destination.

BAMF!

The German mutant found himself hanging upside down concealed in a large tree from the woods outside of the mansion's gate. With a comfortable twenty feet between him and the road he watched again as the motorcycle sped past him and down the road towards town.

Kurt waited a moment after Gambit passed, and prepared for the inevitable tree hopping to get himself closer to town. Through a quick survey he mapped out a course.

BAMF!

Birch tree.

BAMF!

Pine.

BAMF!

Phone pole.

BAMF!

Another phone pole.

BAMF!

Street Light.

BAMF!

With little difficulty Kurt now perched over the edge of a four-story building. He looked down to his right and found the road leading from the mansion, but quickly glanced to his left to see Gambit's motorcycle turn a corner two blocks down.

'He's faster than I thought.' Kurt said to himself with slight panic, 'Maybe I should just head back to the Mansion. I mean he's gone right? He left. This is a good thing… but he left in a hurry, and if the professor knew about it, he would have had an escort… this doesn't add up.'

BAMF!

Kurt reappeared atop the building two blocks down where the bike had turned. 'No, I should find out where he's going.'

BAMF!

Unable to see exactly where Gambit was, Kurt relied on the sound of the bike's engine to guide him. From the new rooftop he glanced down over the edge until he was sure he was following the right noise.

BAMF!

Kurt appeared six blocks further from his last building and gave a moment's glance to see if Gambit was in sight. No luck, but the engine was definitely louder.

BAMF!

Four blocks to the right this time, and Kurt caught a glimpse of Gambit turning another corner.

BAMF!

Kurt followed. He found himself on top of a Diner on the edge of town as he watched the motorcycle tear down an empty stretch of road leading to a dark horizon.

He prepared to teleport again, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the realization that he was about as far away from the mansion as he had ever gone on foot, or maybe it was the fact that he had just ported sixteen times in the last few minutes, but Kurt took this momentary pause as a chance to think as he continued to watch Gambit drive off.

He fought himself over whether he should keep going. Kurt knew it was 10:30 when he had left the mansion, and that he was definitely not aloud to be this far away without anyone knowing where he was.

'But I've got to keep going, if I go back now, I'll lose him.' Kurt thought as he watched the taillights of Gambit's bike in the distance. They were the only thing he could still make out of the motorcycle in the darkness. 'I've already lost to much time.'

BAMF!

Kurt landed on his feet on the shoulder of the road about two hundred yards from the Diner. The road had few street lamps and the ones that were there were spaced far apart.

BAMF!

He reappeared another hundred yards down in the dim yellow circle of a streetlight "Wo ist er?" [Where is he?] Kurt asked himself as he tried to see down the road before hearing the new sound of a car coming up behind him. With out thinking he reached for his image inducer and quickly turned it on as a pair of headlights turned onto the road near the Diner.

'What am I thinking?' he asked himself again, 'I should have ported off the road, into the shadows.' Soon Kurt saw his own shadow projected in front of him by the car's headlights. 'Well it's too late now, they can see me, I'll have to wait till the car passes. If I disappear they'll become suspicious, maybe call the cops or-'

But his thoughts were interrupted as a pair of red and blue flashing lights lit up his head light silhouette. 'You got to be kidding me!' he said in disbelief as the cop car pulled to a stop next to him.

"What are you doing out this late in the middle of nowhere, son?" asked the middle-aged cop in the passenger seat after he rolled down the window.

Kurt didn't say anything. What could he say? He was in disbelief.

"Son? I asked you a question."

Kurt flinched as a flashlight lit up his face. "I was… just out for a walk… sir."

"At 10:30 at night on a week day? I doubt that, why don't you try telling me the truth, boy?"

Kurt panicked, but cooled off as quickly as he could, and started to lie. "Well you see officer, it's actually a pretty long story…"

"We got time…"

"Well you see my… a… my grandmother is really sick…"

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Gambit pushed down the kickstand of his bike and left it in the shadows off of the shoulder of an old deserted road. He walked through the woods to a group of warehouses with a sense of confidence that should have surprised him.

'Essex be in Seattle tonight,' he reminded himself, 'least he should be…' he thought grimly as he came to a collection of crates outside a door. To the right of the door a grate used for ventilation jutted out of the wall. Gambit placed his hand on one of the crates for a few seconds before a crackling sound filled the night and he left to walk down an ally between two buildings. Gambit bent down and pulled open the angled doors that led into a basement and climbed down the stairs while listening for any footsteps other than his own.

'No one ever comes this way, except to catch a smoke, but that wouldn't happen till later tonight.' Gambit considered as he walked down a long hallway until it connected with another. He listened carefully for footsteps before checking to make sure the hall was empty. 'All clear.' He thought to himself with a slight smile before walking on.

Gambit glanced at his watch before he opened a door and walked inside the room. He carefully shut the door behind him and crouched down under a lab bench.

He looked up to see two men in white coats in the middle of the room. One stood behind a window and would write on his clipboard while monitoring dials as the other man wearing rubber gloves and a mask stood on the other side of a glass wall. The second man worked at a table and used a machine to carefully pour one chemical into the next.

"Almost, the numbers aren't matching up yet, but it's getting close." The first man said as he tapped a dial with his pen.

"How close? I don't like being near the chemicals when they are mixing. How much longer does it look like?" asked the second man through his mask.

"Just another minute or two, come on its not that bad, and besides-" but the man was cut off as a red light began to flash. "Uh-o…"

Gambit smiled as he looked back at his watch 'Right on time.'

"Uh-o? UH-O?! I don't like to hear that Jeff!"

"It looks like something got caught in the ventilation shaft. We need to cut the experiment. Those chemical vapors are poisonous, and if they can't get out…"

"I get the idea, just hit the kill switch already!!" the second man began to panic as he backed away from the table."

"Ok, ok." The first man replied as he pushed the red kill switch on the wall. There was a deafening silence as the whirrs from all the different machines in the room became quiet. "Come on lets go get some coffee or something, it's going to take twenty minutes for the system to get back online."

Gambit waited a moment as both men left the room and he slowly stood up from under his hiding place. He walked out past where the two men had been and came to another door that led to a small hallway. Once in the hallway he stalked to a room across the hall marked 'Archives'.

To the side of the door was a large window. Gambit slowly checked inside the room for anyone. He had never actually seen anyone ever inside this room, but he had to be sure.

Gambit dialed the access code he had taken from one of the scientists last year and a green light came on as he opened the door and entered the room.

There were many file cabinets against the wall and one desk with a computer on it. The room was rather large with other connecting rooms towards the back. He walked over to the Archive Department's computer and entered the same password that had opened the door. He quickly took to the keyboard as he searched through different files and experiments on the computer's database.

The printer started up as the experiment files on Rogue's watch began to print. Gambit got up and walked over to one of the file cabinets and dragged his index finger over the letters until he got to 'R' and pulled out the drawer. 'Wait… non, it would not be under 'R'' He said to himself as he closed that cabinet and found the drawer labeled 'X'.

'Essex would alphabetize by organizations, not people.' Gambit thumbed through the files until he got to a separator labeled 'X-Men'. He pulled out the entire cluster of folders that were held together by rubber bands and placed them down on the desk. Next Gambit searched through the different named folders, 'Lets see… The Professor… blue homme… the Canadian… ah Rogue.' All of the folders seemed very thin and couldn't have much more information in them other than simply their name, power and possibly a brief background is Dr. Essex had felt interested enough.

Gambit opened Rogue's folder and flipped through the few pieces of paper inside it. The folder consisted of a school picture, some basic information, and an abridged version of the experiment that had just finished printing. He closed the folder and placed it back onto the pile, but this time noticed two very thick folders near the bottom.

Intrigued, Gambit picked one up and flipped through it. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Merde…" [shit…] he said out loud before closing the folder and dropping it back on the desk. Gambit rushed back to the computer and began searching through the experiment database again. Windows began popping up on the screen; text windows, pictures, diagrams.

The printer started up again as Gambit stood up and walked back to the folders. He quickly re wrapped them with rubber bands and shut the file cabinet.

"Is somebody in here?" a nasal sounding voice came from one of the connecting offices in the back of the room.

Gambit ran back over to the computer and closed everything down as quickly as he could. He rushed to the printer and grabbed all of the papers and then picked up the folders off of the corner of the desk as he snuck out the door and back through the lab.

"You aren't suppose to be using that printer, you need to send it to the one next door…" a small man in a white coat emerged from the very back of the room. "Hello?"

Once outside, Gambit started his motorcycle as he tried to balance the files under one arm as he drove off down the road.

'Got to make a quick stop on the way back.' The thought brought a smirk to his lips, 'Got to make it fast though… what would be open this late?'

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"So let me get this strait," the policeman started as he pointed off towards the direction Gambit had driven down, "you live over that way, in a town that you don't remember the name of, with your grandmother?"

"And your grandmother," continued the other cop, "she is really sick, with something called 'Magna-toe'."

Kurt nodded to the two cops who were both standing outside their squad car on the side of the road.

"And the doctors prescribed her this medicine called 'Xavieroth'."

"But they couldn't get it delivered to your town," continued the second policeman, "So you took a bus all the way over here to pick it up-"

"Cause his grandma was just too sick to drive him."

"Right, but after you picked up the medicine, you accidentally missed your bus home."

"So now you're walking all the way back?"

Kurt smiled as he nodded "Yes officer, that is why I am out this late."

The older officer smiled reassuringly back to Kurt. "Well do you mind if we ask to see this 'Xavieroth' medicine?"

"Ummm… of course not officer…" Kurt padded his pockets but knew nothing was there to find, "Oh man!" He pretended to be surprised as he pulled his pockets inside out. "I don't know where it is. I must have dropped it back at the bus station. I can't believe this!"

"Neither can I…" said the cop as his smile vanished and his arms crossed over his chest. "We just stood here for over forty minutes to hear some made up story. Now I'm only going to ask you one more time son. What are you doing out here?!"

Kurt panicked, "Well… I swear that's the truth… I mean-"

But he was cut off as all three of them looked up as Gambit pulled his motorcycle to a stop on the other side of the street. "Is there a problem here officers?" Gambit asked.

"Do you know this kid?" Asked the younger officer as a flashlight's beam hit Gambit's face.

He hardly flinched from the light before saying, "Of course I know my own brother."

"Brother?!" the other three people asked together as the policemen alternated shining their flash light on the two mutants.

"Come on brother," Gambit said with a huge smile as he flagged Kurt over to his bike. "We need to be getting home."

Kurt didn't move, the last thing he wanted was to be rescued by Gambit, or maybe the last thing he wanted was to be brought back to the Mansion by the police. The two choices were close, but on second thought riding on Gambit's bike didn't seem quite so bad.

Kurt walked calmly past the policemen and began to cross the street towards Gambit. "But first we need to go into town THAT way to pick up GRANDMA'S medicine."

Gambit smirked for a moment before plastering his face with fake concern. "Is Grandmother still sick?"

"Yes very. I left the her medicine back at the train station, or maybe at the pharmacy, I'm not sure so we need to go check."

"Well we should hurry, you know how Grandmother worries about you."

"Now just wait a minute!" chimed in one of the cops. "Do you actually expect us to believe that you two are brothers? You two sound nothing alike, and even in this dark I can tell you sure don't look alike either."

"He's adopted." Both teens answered as they pointed to the other.

The middle-aged police officer placed his head in his hands for a moment before saying anything more. "Fine, I don't care if you're his uncle as long as you take him home right now."

"Yes officer, right away." Gambit promised with a mock salute as Kurt climbed onto the back of the bike.

"Wait, that boy needs a helmet."

"He has one officer. Brother, please put on your favorite helmet that you ALWAYS wear when ever you ride on my bike." Gambit said with a sickeningly sweet smile that made Kurt lean away slightly.

"Well I would… brother… but I don't see it anyw-" but Kurt stopped as he noticed the helmet hanging from Gambit's right hand. "You're kidding right?" he whispered as Gambit proudly presented him with a bright pink helmet covered in glitter.

"Gambit never kids about safety!" he shouted dramatically after a short gasp. "Now come on, we have to get home to our poor sick grandmother."

Kurt almost got off the bike to say something before glancing back to the cops who were watching intently. "Fine." He said under his breath as he took the helmet and fastened it under his chin. "Lets go."

"Good bye officers!" called Gambit as he drove off with Kurt holding on behind him.

Kurt said nothing as the bike sped past the Diner and they made their way through town, but eventually he broke the silence, "Do you always use this helmet?"

Gambit just laughed, "Yeah, it brings out my eyes."

Kurt's eyes grew angry before he noticed an annoying sound around his right ear. He reached up with one hand and grabbed something off the side of the helmet and pulled down to snap it off. 'Tags?' he thought as he looked at the price tags in his hand, 'he just bought it? … he knew I was following him…' Kurt looked down with disappointment but soon shook himself out of it.

"Where did you go?" he asked Gambit

"None of your business."

"You left the mansion."

"So did you."

"Yeah to follow you!"

"I noticed." Gambit said with a laugh. "You make some new friends back there?"

Kurt grew angry again before considering the alternative to being on this motorcycle right now. "thanks" he said very quietly under his breath.

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(A/N: So?!?! Was that just Kurt-a-liciouse? Haha I'm sorry I'll stop inventing words, but still I absolutely love writing Kurt into my story. He is just so easy to work into comic situations, and on top of that he is just plain cool. I mean Kurt has been with me in this story all the way from 'Leggo My Eggo', to my personal favorite 'shouting randomly in German'. But after this chapter and learning about his poor sick grandmother, I might have a new favorite. Haha

ok, well just a heads up before you guys go review, according to my little story outline, the next chapter should be my last one for this fic. It kind of depends on how big it ends up being, I might be able to break it into two more instead of one, but most likely chapter 16 will be the last one. :'( so sad… such good times you guys… come on group hug… I told myself I wasn't going to cry, come on Green Sandels, stay strong, you can do this!

I'm sorry about that you guys, I'm ok now. But just letting you know these are most likely my second to last shout outs, and if you want in on the shout out action next chapter, you better give me a review!! And incase you haven't noticed, though I appreciate the average "great chap. Update soon pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease" reviews, they don't usually get shout outs.

On that note, here are the Shout Outs:

Wiccamage: I hope you liked that poem, I made it all by myself!!! I really mean it though, thanks so much for helping me with this and all my chapters, your truly the un-sung hero of this fic… well not anymore cause in my head that poem is really a song haha

Ms.Rogue LeBeau: green sadels flips on a light switch hey you had the lights off in here, that's not safe… haha nah I'm just kidding, trust me I'll randomly guess in the dark and try to call an ending to movies with my friends. The hard part is knowing which of your friends it pisses off, and which think its funny. But don't worry about me; I love it when people try to guess the ending. I hope you'll like the way it ACTUALLY ends. Haha

ishandahalf: you can stop shaking your fist at me now that I have SAFELY returned Gambit. Haha see no harm done, no DEATH and DOOM… just folders… and lots of ishandahalf-approved romy-ness to come. And that's a fact! I know you can't wait, and trust me I can't either. I just hope you, and everyone else, enjoyed this chapter which involved Kurt almost getting put in the back of a squad car.

willa. J: let me just explain one thing to you my friend, and that is the fact that X-Men: TAS (the animated series) was what my Saturday mornings were all about! Haha I LOVED the early 90's cartoon which in turn got me hooked on the comics, which is one thing that irks me about evo, is just how they mess up some people, but hey, that's what ff.n is for right? I'm flattered to hear you enjoyed my story so much I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I am very sorry about your exams.

RoguesHeart: PLEASE DO NOT EXPLODE!!! I would be so sad if you exploded and I never got to tell you how proud I am about how good your Spanish is. Haha I hope you liked this chapter, and I'm really flattered you like my story.

Gothic Cajun: haha you review the way I think, random sentences, one right after another. Haha I'm just messn' with you, trust me it made perfect sense. Well here is your update, so you go review again so I can update again!!

Rogue4787: I am so flattered that you like my story so much, I hope you liked this chapter. There wasn't any Romy-ness in it, but there is some classic comedy that will hopefully hold you off until next chapter, which will be utterly DRENCHED in romy-ness, and you have my word!

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Well that's the end of that, now go review!!! FOR THE SECOND TO LAST TIME!!! Haha


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